March - Wheat Life

Transcription

March - Wheat Life

WHEAT LIFE
The official publication of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers
MARCH 2015
CANVASSING THE CAPITALS
WAWG members take industry’s
message to Olympia, D.C.
AMMO workshop gives young,
beginning producers a head start
WSU prepares to release
its 100th variety
Researching snow mold
Woven in wheat
Address Service Requested
Washington Association of Wheat Growers
109 East First Avenue, Ritzville, WA 99169
WHEAT LIFE
Volume 58 • Number 03
www.wheatlife.org
WAWG flies into busy time of year
The official publication of
As I sit down to write this column, the sound of the
rain pounding on my window is very welcome. I can only
speak for my area (near Colfax), but the ground is very wet.
I hope wherever you are, the rains are falling too.
WASHINGTON
ASSOCIATION OF
WHEAT GROWERS
109 East First Avenue
Ritzville, WA 99169-2394
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
WAWG MEMBERSHIP
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
$125 per year
EDITOR
Trista Crossley • [email protected]
(435) 260-8888
AD SALES MANAGER
Kevin Gaffney • [email protected]
(509) 235-2715
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Devin Taylor • Trista Crossley
AD BILLING
Michelle Hennings • [email protected]
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
CIRCULATION
Address changes, extra copies, subscriptions
Chauna Carlson • [email protected]
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
Subscriptions are $50 per year
WAWG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Michelle Hennings
WAWG EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT
Larry Cochran • Colfax
VICE PRESIDENT
Kevin Klein • Edwall
SECRETARY/TREASURER
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Nicole Berg • Paterson
APPOINTED MEMBERS
Chris Herron • Connell
Marci Green • Fairfield
Ben Adams • Coulee City
Wheat Life (ISSN 0043-4701) is published by the
Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG):
109 E. First Avenue • Ritzville, WA 99169-2394
Eleven issues per year with a combined August/
September issue. Standard (A) postage paid at
Ritzville, Wash., and additional entry offices.
Contents of this publication may not be reprinted without permission.
Advertising in Wheat Life does not indicate endorsement of an organization, product or political
candidate by WAWG.
2 President’s Perspective
WHEAT LIFE MARCH 2015
By Larry Cochran
WAWG has entered our busy time of the year. We’ve
been to Washington, D.C., for National Association of
Wheat Growers’ meetings and spent a day up on the hill
visiting with our legislators. We met with several Washington state legislators
personally: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Maria Cantwell
and Rep. Dan Newhouse. We talked to them and their aides about the 2015 reauthorization of the Grain Standards Act and explained that WAWG supports the
Washington State Department of Agriculture as a delegated authority to conduct
federal grain inspection services in Washington state. Another issue we discussed
was maintaining the funding for the federal crop insurance program, because in
a bad year, crop insurance might be the only thing keeping a farmer from going
under. We talked about increasing funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Agricultural Research Service back to 2010 levels and about the Section 179
Expensing and Bonus Depreciation provisions. WAWG supports maintaining the
maximum deduction of $500,000 and the 50 percent bonus depreciation for the
purchase of new capital assets, including agricultural equipment. We talked about
other issues as well, but these were the most important.
After returning from back east, WAWG officers went west to Olympia for a
day to introduce ourselves to freshman legislators and to start building a dialog
between us. We kept our message to three issues: promoting the design phase for
Washington State University’s new plant sciences building; funding for maintenance of our shortline rail system; and the urgent need to get our ports back up
and running at full speed. The meetings went very well. We also held our annual
Olympia Days trip. This year we had 27 WAWG members, officers and executive
team meet with more than 60 state legislators in two days. It was very successful,
and I feel confident we were able to get our message across. For more information
on Olympia Days, see page 6.
On another note, this issue of Wheat Life is focused on young and beginning
producers. It used to be that 2 percent of the population was farmers, but the last I
saw, we have been reduced to 1 percent. It doesn’t seem very long ago that I was a
young producer; where did the time go? There are great opportunities in agriculture, and we must encourage our youth to get involved now and for the future.
Lastly but not least, WAWG still needs someone with a passion for agriculture
and wheat, in particular, to step forward and fill our secretary/treasurer position.
The legislators we spoke with in D.C. and Olympia all appreciate our speaking
with them and bringing our concerns to their attention. We have to remember that
farming is no longer just driving a tractor. We must be able to tell our message,
and the more people who hear it, the better off agriculture will be.
Cover photo: Warm (for February), sunny days greeted WAWG members in the state capital for the
organization’s annual Olympia Days. Twenty-seven WAWG members, officers and staff met with almost
half of the state’s legislators to talk about issues important to the wheat industry. See the write up and
pictures beginning on page 6. All photos are Shutterstock images or taken by Wheat Life staff unless
otherwise noted.
Inside This Issue
WAWG President’s Perspective
Membership Form
WAWG at Work
Policy Matters
Building a Foundation
Getting a head start
Workshop aims at young, beginning producers
Farm bill due date
FSA urges producers to make an appointment
The face of farming
Do you know who represents agriculture?
Profiles
Gary Wegner, Columbia River Carbonates
WGC Chairman’s Column
WGC Review
On the shoulders of giants
WSU prepares to release 100th variety of wheat
Following the money
What would a sales tax cost the ag industry?
A little bit of everything
Art Douglas’ 2015 weather predictions
Overwhelming in a good way
WGC intern reflects on his first meeting
Snow mold
Research focuses on developing resistance
Wheat Watch
Woven in wheat
Using straw to make artful objects
The Bottom Line
Quoteworthy
Your Wheat Life
Happenings
Advertiser Index
Contributors
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Larry Cochran, president, Washington Association of Wheat Growers
Steve Claassen, chairman, Washington Grain Commission
Scott A. Yates, communications director, Washington Grain
Commission
Kevin Gaffney, ad sales manager, Wheat Life
Jim Jesernig, WAWG lobbyist
JD Rosman, student, Oklahoma State University
?
Figure crafted
by Diana Kenner
T. Randall Fortenbery, Ph.D., Thomas B. Mick Endowed Chair in Grain
Economics, Washington State University
Sterling Smith, WGC intern
Tim Murray, plant pathologist, Washington State University
Mike Krueger, president and founder, The Money Tree
Heidi Scott, writer, Spokane, Wash.
Carl Sohn, Northwest Farm Credit Services
WHEAT LIFE MARCH 2015 3
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WAWG’s current top priorities are:
✔ Ensure that a strong safety net for
wheat farmers is formed through the
• Sales tax exemption on fertilizer and pesticides
federal farm bill
• Ag wholesale B&O exemption
✔ Monitor the GM wheat situation and
• Off-road fuel tax exemption
support continued biotechnology research
• Repair parts exemption
and product and market development
✔ Preserve the ag tax preferences:
Washington state continues to look for more revenue,
and farmers’ tax exemptions are on the list. If these are important
to your operation, join today and help us fight.
More member benefits:
Weekly Email correspondence
• Greensheet ALERTS • WAWG updates
• Voice to WAWG through opinion surveys
• National Wheat Grower updates
Washington Association
of Wheat Growers
109EastFirstAve.•Ritzville,WA99169
509-659-0610•800-598-6890•509-659-4302(fax)
www.wagrains.com
Call 800-598-6890 or visit www.wagrains.com
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WAWG
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WAWG canvasses capitals,
addressing issues, concerns
Winter might be the quiet time for farmers, but for
the WAWG officers, executive team and staff, it’s anything but. They’ve already spent much of January and
February travelling between the two coasts, and March
is likely to bring much of the same. Here’s a look at
what your WAWG representatives have been up to.
Olympia Days
In Olympia, blue skies and spring-like temperatures
greeted 27 WAWG members, officers and staff as they
spent two days meeting more than 60 legislators, aides
and agency staff.
Thanks to the efforts of WAWG’s lobbyist, Jim
Jesernig, who organized the meetings, wheat farmers
were able to meet not only their local representatives and senators, but many west-side legislators who are unfamiliar with
agriculture. They were able to sit down with Gov. Jay Inslee,
Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, House Speaker Frank
Chopp and many committee and agency leaders. See page 9 for
pictures.
“The trip was great,” said WAWG President Larry Cochran.
“We made our points and had a good reception with our
legislators.”
During the meeting with Gov. Inslee, WAWG asked the governor for his support on the Federal Grain Inspection Services’
(FGIS) reauthorization of the Washington State Department of
Agriculture as its delegated authority in Washington state. That
delegated authority is under fire from other states as well as private grain inspection companies due to the interruption of grain
inspection services last summer at the United Grain Corporation
terminal in Vancouver. The governor promised to look into the
matter and later agreed to send a letter of support to FGIS.
The slate of visits also moved the needle on two of WAWG’s
top priorities, a transportation revenue package and funding
for the design phase of the Washington State University (WSU)
plant sciences building. Transportation was the top issue in most
meetings, with WAWG members stressing the need for a transportation revenue package that included funding for repairs and
maintenance on the PCC Shortline Rail System and transportation project reforms, such as amending the prevailing wage law
and streamlining the environmental permitting process. The
need for design funding for WSU’s new building, which was
dropped from the governor’s proposed budget, was also emphasized in meetings with senators and representatives on both
sides of the aisle. As of press time, Jesernig was able to report
that the Senate Transportation Committee had held public hear-
Testifying: While in Olympia, WAWG Past President Nicole Berg (second from right) was asked to testify before the Senate Agriculture, Water and
Rural Economic Development Committee about her involvement in the Ag and Water Quality Advisory Committee. Berg commended Ecology Director
Maia Bellon for trying to make her department more transparent and willing to work with farmers and ranchers, but said there’s still work to be done.
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WAWG AT WORK
ings on eight different reform packages that WAWG had supported.
The other top WAWG priority was securing funding for the Voluntary
Stewardship Program, which puts an emphasis on county-level, locally led
conservation efforts.
“I feel that the meetings we had were very positive,” said WAWG Executive
Director Michelle Hennings. “We had double the meetings we’ve done in the
past, and we had a great group come over and complete those meetings with us.
We couldn’t have done it without all the volunteers who helped us succeed. The
trip was very successful, and we thank all the legislators that met with us.”
Jeff Shawver, a wheat farmer from Franklin County, said after Olympia Days,
he’d be able to go back to his county and explain in detail what WAWG was trying to accomplish.
“I can see what my county thinks (on the issues), and I can bring that back to
the state level and explain where we stand,” he said. “I can’t wait to come back
next year.”
Washington, D.C.
Before there was Olympia Days, there was the National Association of Wheat
Growers’ (NAWG) Wheat Industry Winter Conference in Washington, D.C.
The WAWG officers and Executive Director Michelle Hennings spent the last
week in January participating in NAWG committee meetings and roundtable
discussions.
While in D.C., the group also met with many members of Washington’s
legislative team, including Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Reps.
Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, as well as staffers from some of
the other legislators. The team discussed the farm bill, trade and transportation issues. They also talked about WAWG’s support of the reauthorization
of the Federal Grain Inspection Service and delegating that authority to the
Washington State Department of Agriculture, the farm bill and maintaining
funding for crop insurance.
2015 state priorities
Improvements to the farm-tomarket transportation system: We
support a transportation revenue
package if it includes construction
reforms that streamline processes to
maintain our state’s transportation
infrastructure AND make improvements to the farm-to-market system,
such as rehabilitation funding for the
PCC Shortline Rail System.
Funding for WSU’s plant sciences
building: Washington State University
is requesting $6.6 million from the
2015 Washington Legislature for the
design phase of a new, 100,000 square
foot Advanced Plant Sciences building
on the Pullman campus.
Reauthorization of the Grain
Standards Act: WAWG strongly supports the 2015 reauthorization of the
Grain Standards Act, which includes
language mandating that the Federal
Grain Inspection Agency (FGIS)
ensures grain inspections continue
despite human-caused safety concerns that might disrupt inspections
and would include delegated authority. WAWG supports the Washington
State Department of Agriculture as a
delegated authority to conduct FGIS
services in Washington state.
Resolve issues at West Coast ports:
The impacts of the slowdown of terminal activity at the ports of Tacoma,
Seattle and other West Coast container ports are severe. We support
legislators’ help in publicly stressing
the importance of efficient and functioning ports and getting the parties
to restore port productivity.
Extend ag-related tax incentives:
We support extending all food and
farm-related tax incentives, including the processing incentives set to
expire July 1, 2015.
In Washington, D.C., WAWG Past President Nicole Berg (not shown) took part in a meeting with U.S.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (center) to discuss research funding, transportation
and grain inspection services, among other issues.
Support the Voluntary Stewardship
Program: Twenty-eight counties “opted in” to the Voluntary
Stewardship Program (VSP), yet only
two have received the planning
money necessary to move forward.
We support the Washington State
Conservation Commission’s request
of $7.6 million for VSP funding.
WAWG Olympia Days
Feb. 16-17, 2015
(From left) Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Karen Fraser (D-Olympia) heard
from WAWG Ambassador Morgan Adams, WAWG members Ben Adams and
Jeff Shawver and WAWG President Larry Cochran about the PCC Shortline Rail
System, and why it is so important to Eastern Washington wheat growers.
For two days, 27 WAWG members crisscrossed the capital
grounds meeting with legislators. Here, WAWG officers Kevin
Klein, vice president (left); Past President Nicole Berg; and
President Larry Cochran compare meeting schedules.
Senate Majority Assistant Floor Leader Jim Honeyford (R-Sunnyside) and
WAWG Past President Nicole Berg talk about the West Coast ports situation
and Washington state transportation issues.
Sen. Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake) and WAWG President Larry
Cochran walk through WAWG’s priorities for this session.
Part of the WAWG delegation headed over
to the offices of the Washington State
Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to meet
with Director Bud Hover (fourth from the
right) where they talked about the Grain
Standards Act and WSDA as the delegated
grain inspection authority in Washington
state. The provision that allows the Federal
Grain Inspection Service to delegate grain
inspection services to a third party is set
to expire in September. WAWG supports
reauthorizing WSDA as the delegated grain
inspection authority for our state.
Thank you to our members for taking part...
WAWG members had the opportunity to
sit down with Washington Governor Jay
Inslee (center) and discuss WAWG’s top
priorities, including the badly needed
funding for the PCC Shortline Rail System,
which Gov. Inslee called an “appropriate
investment” for the state. WAWG asked
the governor for his support for the
Washington Department of Agriculture
to remain the delegated authority in the
state for grain inspection services and
thanked the governor for his support of
the wheat industry. Later, WAWG learned
that the governor has agreed to send
a letter to the Federal Grain Inspection
Service supporting WSDA as its delegated
authority in Washington state.
(From left) House Majority Floor Leader Kristine Lytton (D-Anacortes), WAWG
member JP Kent and WAWG Past President Nicole Berg talk about the Eastern
Washington wheat industry and the issues before the legislature this session
that can affect agriculture. Support for the Voluntary Stewardship Program
and funding for the design phase of the new Washington State University
plant sciences building were also discussed.
WAWG member Craig Kincaid
talks to Rep. Terry Nealey
(R-Dayton) at a reception/
dinner for legislators during the
association’s annual Olympia
Days trip. The dinner was a way to
thank legislators for their support
of the wheat industry.
(From left) WAWG member
Jeff Shawver, WAWG Executive
Director Michelle Hennings and
WAWG Past President Nicole Berg
listen during a meeting with one
of Washington state’s legislators
during the association’s annual
Olympia Days.
2015 WAWG Ambassadors, Morgan Adams of Coulee City and
Matt Warren of Dayton, take a chance to talk about the day
during the reception/dinner with legislators.
With a transportation revenue package high on the list of
WAWG priorities, (from right) WAWG Executive Director Michelle
Hennings, WAWG member Ben Adams and WAWG President
Larry Cochran were pleased to be able to meet with Sen. Curtis
King (R-Yakima), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.
WAWG Executive Director Michelle Hennings and
WAWG member Bill Warren take part in a meeting
with a state legislator during the association’s
annual Olympia Days trip. Twenty-seven WAWG
members met with more than 60 legislators, aides
and agency staff in two days.
House Speaker Frank Chopp (D-Seattle), right,
and WAWG member Marci Green listen during
a discussion about WAWG’s priorities for this
legislative session.
(From left) Rep.
Norm Johnson
(R-Yakima)
meets with
WAWG
members Ben
Barstow and
Craig Kincaid
to talk about
issues affecting
the wheat
industry.
Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville), sixth from left, has been one of the
wheat industry’s biggest supporters (Schoesler owns a wheat and cattle farm near Ritzville),
telling the WAWG group that he wouldn’t be where he was if it weren’t for the wheat
growers. WAWG thanked the senator for his support of the state’s agricultural industry.
Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla), front center, talked to WAWG members about the
McCleary decision, which requires the state to increase funding for education, and the
implications that decision could have throughout the state.
(From left)
WAWG
Ambassador
Morgan
Adams, WAWG
President
Larry Cochran
and WAWG
member (and
past president)
Ben Barstow go
over notes prior
to a meeting.
...Thank you to our legislators for listening
WL
WAWG AT WORK
“We had some lively discussions,” WAWG President
Larry Cochran said. “Establishing personal relationships
with our legislators is critical. These are the people representing our industry in Washington, D.C., and we need to
make sure they understand our issues and concerns.”
WAWG Past President Nicole Berg traveled ahead of the
pack in order to take part in a NAWG meeting with U.S.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. In that
meeting, they talked about low level presence (LLP) and
GMOs and how that will affect trade with other countries.
They also discussed research funding with Sec. Vilsack
noting that the public needs to understand how tax dollars
spent on ag research helps them. According to Berg, Sec.
Vilsack stressed the importance of telling agriculture’s
story and educating the public on why research is so critical to not only the industry, but consumers as well.
Legislature focuses on
transportation, VSP funding
By Jim Jesernig,
WAWG Lobbyist
The focus in the last few weeks of February centered on
a bipartisan transportation revenue package released by
two republican and two democratic senators. The centerpiece of this package is an increase of 11.7 cents in the gas
tax that would pay for highways, ferries, maintenance
and local roads across Washington state. The $15 billion
transportation proposal is an effort to bridge RepublicanDemocrat and urban-rural divides, after highway funding
bills failed in 2013 and 2014. The Senate Transportation
Committee held a public hearing on eight reform bills and
three revenue bills, and WAWG signed in supporting all 11
measures.
Funding to implement the planning phase of the
Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) remains elusive.
Our problem this year is which fund VSP should be come
out of, since everyone seems to think it should get funded.
Gov. Inslee funded VSP out of the Public Works Trust
Fund. Unfortunately, the House and Senate oppose the
use of this fund to pay for VSP. The Senate is likely to try
and fund VSP with money out of the Model Toxics Control
Account (MOTCA), but using funds out of that account is a
nonstarter with the House and Gov. Inslee. Budget writers
from both chambers, and both sides of the aisle don’t want
to fund VSP out of the general fund, since that money will
be needed to craft an overall operating budget.
Efforts to better manage dairy manure that started late
last year seem to finally be coming together on a positive
note. Gone is any legislation that would have implemented
a statewide dairy manure licensing plan, and in its place is
Honored: At an awards luncheon in January, WAWG Past
President Nicole Berg was honored as the Young Agri Business
Person of the Year for the Mid-Columbia Agriculture Hall of
Fame 2015 by the Port of Pasco and the Greater Pasco Chamber
of Commerce. She was joined at the awards ceremony by her
brother, Steven Berg. The Berg family raises both irrigated and
dryland crops on a fourth-generation farm near Paterson, Wash.
a voluntary certification program that would certify dairy
producers as having applied their manure according to
agronomic rates. There is no talk of any program of any
kind for commercial fertilizer.
Finally, HB 1823 (the bill extending the expiration
date of tax incentives for food, dairy, seafood, and wine
processing from 2015 to 2025), received a public hearing in front of the House Finance Committee on Feb. 13.
Department of Agriculture Director Bud Hover led off the
testimony supporting this extension. He was followed by
a number of representatives from the food and seafood
processing industries.
Settlement deadline nears
for soft white wheat claims
Idaho, Oregon and Washington producers who can
document that they sold soft white wheat between May
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WAWG AT WORK
30 and Nov. 30 of 2013 are eligible to
receive part of a $2 million settlement from Monsanto arising from
the discovery of GMO wheat on an
Eastern Oregon farm in May 2013
and the subsequent interruptions of
certain exports of soft white wheat.
Club wheat, as a subclass of soft
white wheat, is also eligible to be
included on a claim.
Eligible farmers must submit a
claim form, along with documentation, in order to receive any payments. Those claim forms must be
received online or be postmarked
by March 31, 2015. The claim form is
at swwsettlement.com, along with
information about the settlement,
contact information and answers to
frequently asked questions.
As part of the settlement,
Monsanto also agreed to pay
an additional $250,000 to the
National Wheat Foundation and
the Washington, Oregon and Idaho
wheat grower associations. WAWG’s
share was $50,000, which was put
into the rainy day fund.
In trivial pursuit of wheat: Visitors at WAWG’s booth during the 2015 Spokane Ag
Expo had a chance to spin the wheel, answer a wheat-based trivia question and enter a
drawing for a flat-screen television. The big winner was Jonathan Gross of Marlin. Throughout
the three-day show, 20 WAWG volunteers manned the booth, including the 2015 WAWG
ambassadors, Morgan Adams and Matthew Warren (shown). Besides spinning the wheat trivia
wheel, visitors learned about the Washington wheat industry and WAWG programs, including
wheat college and AMMO.
WAWG thanks members
The Washington Association of Wheat Growers would like to thank each and every member of our organization.
You, the members, keep the organization strong. The grassroots WAWG is built on keep the leadership, committees
and board members moving forward in a positive way. Without your support and activity, WAWG would not be the
efficient and effective organization it is today. Thank you for your time and support.
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WAWG AT WORK
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PALOUSE GRAIN GROWERS
PASSMORE AVIATION
PERKINS & ZLATICH CPA’S P.S.
PLANT HEALTH INTERNATIONAL
PNW FARMERS COOPERATIVE
POMEROY GRAIN GROWERS
PORT OF DOUGLAS COUNTY
RITZVILLE PARTS HOUSE
RITZVILLE WAREHOUSE CO
ROCK STEEL STRUCTURES
RURAL COMMUNITY
INSURANCE SERVICE
SCHAEFER REFRIGERATION
SS EQUIPMENT
STOESS MFG
T & S SALES
THE MCGREGOR COMPANY
THOMSEN INSURANCE
TOWNSEND SEEDS
TRI-CITIES GRAIN
US BANK
USDA-RISK MANAGEMENT
AGENCY
WAGNER SEED COMPANY
WASHINGTON STATE CROP
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
WHITGRO
BRIAN A WINSLOW
WSU
WSU - WHITMAN COUNTY
EXTENSION
WSU CO-OP EXTENSION
WSU CROP & SOIL SCIENCES
Landlord
3 G CORP
A & D LUST FAMILY
JANET ABRAMS
L. CLIFFORD ADAMS
18 LENORE ADAMS
FRED ALDERSON JR
ROBERT E ALLAN
ANDRUS FARMS
ANGELL FARMS
APPEL VALLEY FARMS
SYLVIA ARBELBIDE
ARCHER RANCH
ARLAND FARMS
JAN R ARMSTRONG
ARNDT FARM
ARTHUR MENKE FAMILY TRUST
ROBERT E AUVIL
BALD BUTTE RANCH
GERALDINE BALDWIN
BANRAC
BARNES FAMILY PROPERTY
TRUST
RICHARD BARRY
BAUER FAMILY FARM
PARTNERSHIP
JOHN BAUMANN
MARY B BAYNE
KURT BLUME
JOANNE BOLICK
BOWMAN FARMS
GENEVA BRANNAN
BREWER FARM
BREWER LEGACY
JANINE BRODINE
DALE BROECKEL
TERRY J BROWN DVM
CHARLES BUCH
BUOB FARMS
BUOB LAND
BARBARA BURT
LARRY BUSSELL
CALKINS & FREDRICKSON
FARMS
DONNA L CAMP
CARCO FARMS
BARBARA CARLTON
CECILE L CARPENTER
DONNA CARPY
RUTH CHRISTIANSON
CJW FAMILY FARM
CLAASSEN FARMS
LAURIE CLARK
CLARK FARMS
ALICE L CLAUSEN
CLINE CLYDE RANCH
CLINE FAMILY FARM
PAUL D CLUSTER
EVELYN COCHRAN
JOHN COFFEY
DOLORES A COLE
PAUL COLLARD
COLLARD HEIRS FARM AGENCY
ERMA COLYAR
LANCE J COLYAR
ELLSWORTH CONOVER
CONRAD ESTATE
COPELAND FARM
COWAN, HOPKINS & LOGEN
SUSAN COX
G M CROSS
CROWS NEST AG
CT MYERS FARMS
CVENGROS FARM & C.P. SANDER
TRUST
SHIRLEY DALING
BARBARA DANFORTH
DAVID CASPER RANCH
HARRY E DAVIS
JESSE T DAVIS
MARY LILLIAN DAVIS
DEEP CANYON RANCH
DELMORE
DIAMOND G FARMS
WANDA K DIRKS-HILL
DONALD G HARRIS
TESTIMONIAL TRUST
BILL DONNELL
DOUBLE B RANCH
DONNA J DOUGLASS
DOVER FAMILY TRUST DT.
PATTY DRUFFEL
DWYLA DONOHUE ENTERPRISES
ALVEN L DYCK
EDNA SKOGLUND
DORIS EFFMAN
ELDEN FELGENHAUER FARMS
ELIE GANGUET FARM
ELIZABETH JACKY REV. LIVING
TRUST
ELYSIAN FIELDS
EM-BREN FARMS
JACK P ENSLEY
DAVID ENSOR
ESTHER JOHNSON REV LIVING
TRUST
FAIRVIEW FARMS
FARMLAND
KATHLEEN FARRENS
FELGENHAUER FARMS
DORIS L FILAN
MAURICE FINK
NADINE FINLEY
LAURA FISHER SMITH
MARSTON FITZSIMMONS
FITZSIMMONS-MALLORY
PROPERTIES
CHARLENE FLANIGAN
SHANNON FLEMING
WILLIAM J FOSTER JR
FRANCISCO TRUST
NANCY FRANZ
VICTOR R FRANZ
MARGARET FRANZ ROBINSON
FRED J KULM TRUST
MONA M FRERIKS
FRICKE FARMS
GAFFCO FARMS
GANGUET FARMS
GARROUTTE FARMS
GECKO
ECHO E GEISSLER
GENE GERKEY
RAMOND M GILES
MR PAUL GLASCO
GLESSNER FARMS
GNU LTD.
GOLDEN HILLS FARM
GOODWATER ENTERPRISE
DAVID B GORDON
GORDON O. KIESZ TRUST
GOSE FAMILY 1995 LIVING
TRUST
JOSEPH E GRANT
GRAY FARMS
BARBARA GRIFFITH
GROGAN LAND COMPANY
GSC CORP
GUMM FARMS
RUTH GUST
GWINN ESTATE
H & D FARMS
H & M FARMS
RICHARD HAGWELL
HALF CIRCLE R ENTERPRISES
NORMAN J HANSEN
REX H HARDER
JAMES HARRI
HARTLAND
HARVEST ENTERPRISES
DAN HARWOOD
HEARTY ACRES
HERSCHEL HEIMBIGNER
ELEANOR HEINEMANN
ROBERT M HEINEMANN
HEITSTUMAN FARMS GP
HENRY SHIELDS FAMILY TRUST
HERDRICK FAMILY
PHYLLIS J HETER
HIDDEN VALLEY LTD PTR
JOHN HIGGINBOTHAM
HINDERER TRIO
MARCIA HINMAN
HIT
HODGEN FAMILY TRUST
ROBERTA C HODGSON
ANN HOFMANN
MARGARET HOLLOWAY
HOMEPLACE
LOUIS J HOPKINS
HUDLOW ENTERPRISES CO
NECIA B HUNTLEY
MARY K IRWIN
J & J THERRELL FAMILY
J R M & M FARMS
J SMITH FARMS
JACKSON & CAHILL FAMILY
FARMS
JACKSON ESTATE
MRS JOSEPH JAEGER
JOANNE G JAMES
JAMES BAILEY
JAMES C LYONS SR FARM
JAMISON MANAGEMENT ACCT
DON L JANS
JERRY HARDY FARMS
JERRY MALEY LIVESTOCK CO
JOE MCCOWN SR TRUST
JOE THOMAS FARMS
JOHN ANDREW HOFER TURNER
TRUST
JOHN R. THOMSEN DAUGHTERS’
FARM
CHARLOTTE J JOHNSON
KIM JOHNSON
VELMA J JOHNSON
RAY E JONES
PETER A JOSS
JURIS FARMS
K D R RANCH
PHYLLIS KAISER
KAPUTA
KEANE RANCH
QUEST KEATTS
KEC FARMS
FRED W KELLER
JOANNE KELLER
KENNEY FARMS
KIBLER FARMING
LAWRENCE L KIESZ
ERNA KISLER
VERAL L KLEIN
MILT KLETTKE
KNODEL & SON FARMS
J B KNOPP
LAUREL KOCH BEALE
FRANKLIN J KOTH
BETH L KRAUSE
L & A FARMS
L & F ENOS FARMS
L & J BUCKLEY FAMILY FARMS
L M T FARMS
DELMAR LAIB
LANGENHEDER FAMILY
LAWTON FARM
STEVEN R LEDGERWOOD
LEDGERWOOD FARM
RICHARD L LEHN
ALLEN LEWIS
SUSAN S LITTLE
LMZ RANCH
LNK FARMS
LOGAN FARM
ERIC E LONG
WILLIAM F LOSKOT
LOUISE JAUSSAUD
WASHINGTON TRUST
LOWDEN KELLY FARM
LYBECKER FARMS
MATT LYONS JR
M & L MURPHY FARMS
M LAZY Y RANCH
ELSIE R MACINTYRE
BILL MALEY
MALLOY FARM PARTNERSHIP
MALONE FARMS
MAPLE K ENTERPRISES
MATT LYONS FARMS
MC GOUGH RANCH
MCCARTY RANCHES
ELAINE B MCDANIEL
MCDONALD-MOON FARMS
MCGUIRE RANCH 969
ROBERT D MCHARGUE
MCINROE FARMS
L A MCKAY
PAUL MCKAY
TIM MCKAY
MCKINLEY FARMS
GLENDA MCLAUGHLIN
EVAN MEHLENBACHER
SHIRLEY A MELVILLE
MERILYN G CLIZER REVOCABLE
TRUST
MARK F MEYER
MICHAEL HARDIN FARMS
EILEEN MILLER
GEOFFREY W MILLS
GERALD MITCHELL
MIX SR FAMILY TRUST
MOCKONEMA PARTNERSHIP
MRS PAULINE R MOECKEL
LINDA MOHR
DEANNA MONTGOMERY
MARK MOORE
PHILIP E MOORE JR
LESTER MOOS
DAVID W MORGAN
MORGAN LIVING TRUST
DENISE MORRIS
MOYER & MOYER
DAN MYERS
JAMES NEFF
NELSON STIRRUP T FARMS
NORBERT NIEHENKE
NOLIN HILLS
NORDLAND RANCH
NOSTAW FARMS
NW FARM
DAVE OLSON
RICH OLSON
ROBERT N OLSON
JOAN MARY ORTH
MARY OSBORN
FANNIE OTT
THELMA M OTT SUTHERLAND
P&P FARMS
BOBYE M PARKES
PATAHA CREEK FARMS
KATHLEEN PAYNE
PENHALLURICK HEIRS
TED PENNER
DAVID W PETERSCHICK
BRUCE H PETTY
PINE COULEE POLLED
HEREFORDS
HOWARD PLATTER
JUDITH K POLENSKE
POLSON FARMS
POMEROY NATIVE
POOLE FARMS
PORTER FARM
MIKE POULSON
DAVID L PRESTON
TRAVIS PREWITT
CAROLYN PRICE
HOWARD S PRICE
PRICE FARM
CECELIA J QUIRK
R & B MEINERS TRUST
R C OLSON FARMS
KENNETH RADACH
RAFCO
GERALD RAY
RAY STORY FARMS
LORENE REMMERS
RF KIBLER FARM
LORNA RICHMOND
EDWARD A RING
RING FARM
ROSELLEN RING-EASTON
JIM RINGWOOD
PATRICK RINGWOOD
ROBERT EMTMAN FARMS
CONNIE J ROBERTSON
ROBERTSON
ROCK COULEE RANCH
ROCKY RIDGE FARMS
JIM ROLOFF
JUNE M ROLOFF
DR STEPHEN A RUARK
RUDOLF FARM
LOREN J RUX
TOM RUX
S & B FARM
SAF/KFI
RONALD C SCHICK
MARY SCHILLING
SCHLIMMER FARMS LTD PS
DOLLIE SCHMIDT
SCHMIDT FARMS
SCHOEDEL FARMS
CARROLL A SCHULTHEIS
JOHN F SCHULTZ
THOMAS SCHULTZ
BARB SCHWISOW
DEL SCHWISOW
DONALD SCHWISOW
POLLY SCOTT
VICKI SCOTT
SCOTTS HAY & GRAIN
AL SEMPRIMOZNIK
MONTE SHAFFER
JERRY SHELLER
SHEPHERD FARMS
SHILLING & SHILLING
SHOUN FARMS
MARY C SIEG
ADDIE MAE SIENKNECHT
SILZEL FAMILY TRUST
ALTHA M SIMMELINK
ORVILLE E SIMONS
SISTERS JACOBSEN
SLACK FAMILY TRUST
SLEEPING LION FARMS
DEAN H SMITH
LEA SMITH
WAYNE H SMITH
SMITH DRESSELL HUTCHISON
FARM
SNOW FARMS
SOBEK FARMS
SODORFF FARMS
MARILYN SORENSEN
SPRING VALLEY RANCHES
SPRINGER FARMS
ROBERT ST CLAIR
DONNA ST JOHN
SHIRLEY STAIB
WYNN STALLCOP
RALPH STALSBERG
EUGENE STARTUP
ALAN STEIGER
STEWART FARMS
STOLP FARMS
AL STROHMAIER
JOHN STRUTHERS
STRUTHERS FARMS
STUBBS FARMS
RICHARD P STUCKY
SUNSET ACRES
T & S FARMS
TALBOTT
TANKE FARMS
TANKE FARMSORPORATED
LAWRENCE J TEE
THE SNOW PLACE
THIEL ESTATE
TIMMLAND
TOLANCO
GORDON TOMASKE
MARY GRANT TOMPKINS
TOMPKINS FAMILY FARM
ELIZABETH F TONER
DAVID TUCK
RICHARD J UHRICH
DONNA R UNDEBERG
V & E CARSTENS
V H ROGER FARMS
VAN HOLLEBEKE FARMS
JEANNIE KAY VEA
VERNICE & HENRY MEINERS
TRUST
VIVIAN LOOMIS
W C / CORALIE SMITH FAMILY
TRUST
AUDREY WAGNER
WAINSCOTT BROTHERS
VICTOR V WAKEFIELD
KAY WALKER
WALKER FARMS
DARREL WALTERS
LUCILLE WEBER
WESSELMAN FAMILY
WHEAT FARMING
DELWIN WHITE
JOANNE WHITEHALL-ALLEN
WHITMAN GROUP
HARVEY WILLIAMS
WILLU
WILPACS PARTNERSHIP
JAMES E WOLF
SCOTT WOODSIDE
CONSTANCE WRIGHT
JAMES WYLIE
GARY PAUL ZAGELOW
ZAGELOW FARM TRUST
ZAGELOW JOINT VENTURE
ZEIMANTZ FAMILY
Lifetime
AERO SMITH FARMS
KAREN ALLYN
PAMELA AUSMAN
RICHARD BAUMANN
KENNETH BEALE
BLANKENSHIP BROTHERS
BMC FARMS
BOX 4 RANCH
MARILYN BURG
BYRAM FARMS
BRIAN COCHRANE
PAUL DASHIELL
TIM W DONEEN
EDWARD ENSOR
LAURENCE ENSOR
FERYN RANCH
JON D FINK
THOMAS FRICK
LARRY GADY
GAYLE GERING
MARYANN HARLOW
HARLOW LAND CO
SUSAN HEGNEY
CHRIS HERRON
HOMBERG FARMS
ISAAK BROTHERS
J & E SCHAFER FARMS
J & J RANCHES
J R SIMPLOT COMPANY
J&K HERRON FAMILY
JADE FARMS
JAMES D MOORE & CO
RON JIRAVA
HAL R JOHNSON
NANCY JOY JOHNSON
JOHNSON PLACE
JOHANNA JOHNSON-ELLIS
JURIS FARMS
K J & J FARMS LTD
J P KENT
KIESZ FARM
WAYNE & LOIS KLINDWORTH
MIKE KUEST
KARL KUPERS
MAHN
TOM MCPHERSON
KENNETH & BERNICE MELCHER
GRANT MILLER
NONNEMACHER FARM JV
NORMA PAGE
MRS SUE PALMER
KERMIT J PETERSON
LES PETERSON
QUALITY GRAIN
CAROL ANN QUIGG
DALE QUIGG
R & R FARMS
A JOSEPH & CANDI MOORE
ROACH
JACK H ROBERTS
SCHAFER RANCH LTD
JEFF SCHIBEL
DICK SCHLUTER
GINGER SCHOESLER
CATHY L SHEFFELS
DAVID W & JENAE SHEFFELS
SHEFFELS & SON
SHEFFELS CO
SILZEL LAND CO
DONALD W STEIGER
T & S KRUPKE FARMS
TRIPLE S FARMS
TURNBOW FLAT FARM
UHRICH FARMS
WASHINGTON STATE SENATE
DOUG WELLSANDT
JAMES WHITE
ROBERT ZORB
THOMAS G ZWAINZ
Partnership
4-H RANCHES
A & J REPP FARMS
BERNT LEHN FARMS
BILL SWANNACK & SON
BROUGHTON LAND CO
CLARK-COLLINS-CLARK
CLOUDBURST FARMS
D & M FARMS
D.W. CORNWALL FARMS
DOUBLE D RANCH
DRY CREEK FARMS
EDWARDS FAMILY
F R W FARMS
FLYING F FARMS
GLADE CREEK RANCH
GUST FARMS
HILLER FARMS
LARRY D HOOD
K D R RANCH
KAP PRODUCTION
JAMES L & VICTORIA KNAPP
L G BLAIR FARMS
PATRICK & DEBBIE MCGOURIN
VICTOR E PARKER
PETERSON SMITH PARTNERSHIP
PM ROSMAN FARMS
REH CO
RICHARD DRUFFEL & SONS
RIFLE RIDGE JV
S LIGHTNING FARMS
SAC ENTERPRISES
TANNEBERG & SON, JV
THE BERG PARTNERSHIP
TOMPKINS BROTHERS
WEYNS FARMS
Student
MAX MIELKE
DAN SCHMITZ
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Presented by the Washington Association of Wheat
WHEAT COL
Bringing world-class information and research
March 23-24, 2015
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
at the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla.
Call (866) 826-9422 to reserve a room.
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by March 10 to
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Presented by:
Neal Kinsey, owner
Kinsey Agricultural Services
Kinsey Agricultural
Services Inc., a St.
Louis-based company,
specializes in soil
fertility management.
They’ve offered soil
consulting services
since 1973 in more
than 75 countries. In this two-day presentation, owner Neal Kinsey will talk about required soil nutrient levels and fertilizer needs
for high-yielding, top-quality wheat, barley
and other small grains.
Covered topics will include:
• Using more of the primary elements than necessary
causes more problems than just a higher fertilizer
bill. We will be considering secondary nutrients and
soil pH, and how they affect small grain production.
First 100 RSVPs to the event will receive a FREE,
2.5 gallon container of RoundUp. Sponsored by:
• The importance of soil micro-nutrient levels, use
of the correct materials to supply micros for the soil
and crop and knowing what happens if there is not
enough or if there is too much.
• Foundational principles for increasing yields and
crop quality; keys to building fertile soil, such as
chemistry, physics and biology; and how to feed
your crop for the best results.
• Understanding the principles of a soil test; differences that matter; and testing your soil tester.
Random prize drawings
will be held throughout
the day. Sponsored by:
Commission
• This crop depends on the primary elements: nitrogen fertilization, phosphate fertilization and potassium fertilization
• Where does sulfur fit? Crop and soil needs for sulfur.
• Top soil fertility depends on the secondary elements, calcium, pH and lime or gypsum.
• Magnesium and what it does for wheat and small
grains.
• Trace elements and why you need to be concerned
if you grow wheat, barley or grain crops.
• Building starch, protein and yield for wheat and
small grains; looking at nutrient levels needed to do
the job.
POLICY MATTERS
House passes tax legislation
In mid-February, the House of Representatives passed
HR 636, America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act, that will
make permanent the section 179 expensing levels of 2010
through 2014. This would allow farmers, ranchers and
small business owners to deduct up to $500,000 in qualifying expenses with a phase-out threshold of $2 million. The
bill was sponsored by Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and passed
by a vote of 272-142. The bill now goes to the Senate for
consideration.
stock and many other diverse food products, agriculture
accounts for thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in
economic activity in our region,” said DelBene. “I’m honored to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. I will
fight to make sure that northwest farmers have a strong
voice in the nation’s capitol as we draft smart policies to
help our agricultural industry thrive.”
If the bill fails to pass the Senate, the expensing maximum will fall to $25,000 starting with the 2015 tax year.
Washington representative
named to ag subcommittee
U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) was selected to
serve as the ranking member of the House Agriculture
Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and
Research which has jurisdiction over fruits, vegetables, organic agriculture, research and education. Her other agriculture assignment is the Subcommittee on Conservation,
Energy and Forestry, overseeing
water, resource conservation,
energy and bio-based energy
production.
On the Agriculture
Committee, DelBene will help
craft federal policy to support
the nation’s agricultural production and ensure that consumers continue to have abundant
access to the world’s safest
food and agricultural products.
The committee tackles a wide
variety of issues ranging from agricultural research and
development, rural economic development, crop insurance, food safety, international trade and commodities
regulation.
“Ensuring the strength of our agricultural sector is
a critical part of having a vibrant local economy in the
(Washington state’s) 1st Congressional District. From dairy
and berry farms, plentiful vegetable crops, wineries, live22 WHEAT LIFE MARCH 2015
The Federal Grain Inspection Service collects test samples from shipments
to be exported in order to verify that the grain meets specifications.
USW to FGIS: we insist on
uninterrupted grain inspections
From U.S. Wheat Associates
Recently, in a letter to Larry Mitchell, administrator of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain
Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
and Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS), U.S. Wheat
Associates (USW) President Alan Tracy emphasized the
need for uninterrupted grain inspection services.
“U.S. wheat producers fully support the important mission of USDA/FGIS and believe that the service provided
is paramount to keeping wheat competitive in the inter-
WL
POLICY MATTERS
national market now and in the future,” Tracy said. “We
insist that uninterrupted service be delivered in a timely
manner on demand by the grain industry.”
Last summer, circumstances related to a labor dispute
disrupted official grain inspection services at an export
elevator in the Pacific Northwest. Citing the “extremely
troubling precedent” being set, 22 national, regional and
state agricultural producer, commodity and agribusiness
organizations, including U.S. Wheat Associates (USW)
and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG),
urged USDA to take immediate action to restore official
grain inspection services at the Port of Vancouver, Wash.
That effort and pressure from several other sources
helped end the dispute and restore official inspection and
weighing operations. However, wheat farmers, including those serving on USW’s board of directors, want the
government to provide assurance against the potential
for similar problems in the future. At its October meeting
USDA forecasts 2015
net farm income at 6-year low
The U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered its forecast
for the 2015 net farm income to $73.6 billion, a 32 percent
drop from a 2014 forecast of $108 billion for this year’s
income. The 2015 forecast would be the lowest since 2009
and a drop of nearly 43 percent from the record high of
$129 billion in 2013. Lower crop and livestock prices are the
main drivers of the drop. The rate of growth in farm assets
is forecast to slow in 2015 compared to recent years. The
slowdown in growth is a result of lower net income leading
to less capital investment and a slight decline in farmland
values. Other highlights of the report are:
• Crop receipts are expected to decrease by nearly 8 percent in 2015, led by a $6.7 billion decline in corn receipts,
a $3.4 billion reduction in fruit/nut receipts and a $2.2
billion drop in oil crop receipts.
•L
ivestock receipts are expected to fall by nearly 5 percent in 2015, due to a 22.3 percent drop in dairy and a
13.8 percent decline in hog receipts. Cattle receipts are
anticipated to reach a new record high in 2015.
•D
espite lower energy and feed prices, total production
expenses are forecast to be up by about 1 percent in
2015.
To read the full report, visit ers.usda.gov/topics and
choose the Farm Economy category, then choose the Farm
Sector Income and Finances category.
in New Mexico, the USW board endorsed the following
resolution concerning the interruption in service:
WHEREAS the U.S. Department of Agriculture is
mandated under the U.S. Grain Standards Act to provide
official inspection and weighing services for exports of
U.S. grains and oilseeds.
THEREFORE be it resolved that U.S. Wheat Associates
urges in the strongest terms that FGIS take whatever actions are necessary to immediately restore official grain
inspection and weighing service wherever and whenever
it is disrupted, either by immediately replacing absent
inspectors with FGIS official personnel or with inspectors
from available qualified providers, including other designated or delegated official agencies.
The U.S. wheat industry will continue to prove it is the
world’s most reliable choice for wheat supplies and will be
aggressive in its efforts to ensure that our market remains
transparent and open.
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WL
POLICY MATTERS
NAWG selects Ohio legislator
as wheat leader of the year
From NAWG
Rep. Robert “Bob” Gibbs (R-Ohio) was selected as the
2014 Wheat Leader of the Year Award by the National
Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) at the annual
Wheat Industry Winter Conference in Washington, D.C.,
in January
“It is an honor to be recognized by the National
Association of Wheat Growers
today. As a farmer, I appreciate
all the work this organization
does for the agriculture community. Our nation’s farmers
provide high quality, safe and
affordable food for American
families, and as the chairman
of the Water Resources and
Environment Subcommittee
and a member of the House
Agriculture Committee, I am committed to ensuring they
have the resources they need. I look forward to working with the wheat growers association in the future and
thank you for honoring me with this award,” Gibbs said.
“We appreciate all the work Rep. Gibbs does on behalf
of wheat farmers in Ohio and across the nation,” Ohio
Corn and Wheat Growers Association President Chad
Kemp commented. “We are proud to have him recognized
as the 2014 Wheat Leader of the Year and thank him for
his strong leadership.”
“Last year was a big year for wheat, and I feel honored
to present the award to Rep. Gibbs. We thank him for his
leadership and look forward to his continued leadership in
2015,” said NAWG President Paul Penner.
The Wheat Leader of the Year Award is given annually
by NAWG to one member of Congress, regardless of party
affiliation, whose philosophy and records demonstrate
their commitment to the well-being of America’s wheat
farmers. It is the wheat industry’s highest legislative
award.
NAWG files comments
on neonics, EQIP regulation
In February, NAWG submitted comments on two im-
portant issues: the use of neonicotinoids by wheat farmers
and the Interim Final Rule for the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was accepting comments on a study that concluded that there is
no benefit to soybean production from the use of neonicotinoids. In their comments, NAWG supported the continued use of neonicotinoids by wheat producers, reminding
that it is the only EPA-approved and labeled product for
wheat to treat certain pests. A study, “Assessing the Value
of Neonicotinoids in North American Agriculture” by
AgInformatics, found that if wheat growers did not have
the use of neonicotinoids, the increased cost per planted
acre would be $2.76 for winter wheat and $1.97 for spring
wheat. EPA is currently reviewing the insecticide class
of neonicotinoids, but the release of the specific study for
comment in the Federal Register was an unusual step.
NAWG also submitted comments on the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Interim Final Rule for
EQIP. The 2014 Farm Bill consolidated the Wildlife Habitat
Incentives Program into EQIP in an effort to eliminate
duplicative programs. NAWG encouraged NRCS to work
cooperatively with wheat growers when implementing the
program and to ensure that growers are not required to
undertake a comprehensive conservation plan in order to
participate in EQIP.
NAWG signs letter against
proposed crop insurance cuts From NAWG
In February, NAWG signed a letter to the U.S. House
and Senate budget committees’ chairs and ranking members, voicing concerns over President Obama’s proposed
budget cuts to some elements of crop insurance. The group
of more than 30 agricultural organizations, representing a vast array of American farmers and crops, seeks to
highlight the importance of the crop insurance provision
of the 2014 Farm Bill and to illustrate how affordable and
consistent crop insurance can save consumers money and
help farmers recover from weather disasters.
The letter said, in part “…The agriculture community is
committed to the belief that balancing the federal budget
is important, which is why the industry supported the
passage just last year of a farm bill that was estimated to
reduce the deficit by $16.6 billion. Additionally, crop insurance has been contributing more than $1.2 billion a year
towards reducing government spending since the 2008
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POLICY MATTERS
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Earlier in the month, President Obama released his
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10 percent cut to premium subsidies for harvest-price
policies. The administration said their plan would save
taxpayers nearly $16 billion over 10 years, including $1.1
billion in fiscal year 2016. Additionally, the budget would
create a single, monolithic food inspection agency and cuts
to some conservation programs.
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workplan were released. Overall, the Pacific Northwest
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the funding included for Northwest navigation projects. The President’s budget includes $4.732 billion for the
overall Corps’ Civil Works Program, with a focus on the
nation’s highest performing ports. Proposed funding for
Northwest projects includes rehabilitation of the jetties at
the mouth of the Columbia River ($11 million), deepening Grays Harbor to its authorized depth of 38 feet ($7
million) and continuing the channel deepening study for
the Seattle Harbor ($500,000). The locks and dams on the
Columbia-Snake River System were also well funded,
showing the Administration’s continued support of the inland navigation system in the
Pacific Northwest.
Unfortunately, the nation’s small ports
were omitted from the Administration’s
proposal. Funding for these projects has
been an ongoing challenge exacerbated
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BUILDING A FOUNDATION
As we welcome our new Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG)
Ambassadors, Morgan Adams and Matthew Warren, the Foundation thought it would be a
great opportunity to catch up with our past WAWG Ambassadors.
JD Rosman, Creston, 2013
A sophomore at Oklahoma State University (OSU)
majoring in ag communications, JD serves as the Ag
Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) treasurer and represented the OSU ACT chapter in January at the National ACT
Convention in Florida. He is a member of OSU Collegiate
Cattlemen’s and OSU Block & Bridle, attending the national
B&B conference hosted by Texas Tech in October. As a freshman, he completed a video marketing campaign internship
with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and
Forestry, chronicling four exhibitors as they prepared for
the Oklahoma Youth Expo Livestock Show. While packing a
full class load and remaining on the President’s and Dean’s
Academic lists, JD can be seen on Oklahoma Horizon, a
nationally televised weekly program covering social and economic issues in Oklahoma, at
okhorizon.com. JD says, “I have realized the importance of connecting with consumers and
changing their perceptions about agriculture by giving a face and voice to American farmers.
Serving as a WAWG Ambassador inspired me to pursue my career path. I hope to give back
to the agricultural community and the wheat growers of our state.”
Charlene Gray, Reardan, 2013
As a sophomore at Eastern Washington University,
Charlene has been busy with a full class load as an Eastern
Eagle. She enjoys returning home to the family farm in
Reardan, working harvest during her summer vacations.
In the spring of 2014, Charlene took on yet another leadership role when she applied for a Residence Hall Community
Advisor position. With her FFA and WAWG public speaking
and leadership skills to call on, she was accepted into the program. Similar to the WAWG ambassador position, Charlene
underwent training courses in the fall and worked with
upper administration in her advisory role. Charlene reflected
on her time as a WAWG Ambassador, saying, “My journey as
an ambassador helped me build confidence for my Community Advisor interview, as well as
(my skills in) public speaking.”
Michael and Linda Schrag Agriculture Education Scholarship
Retired FFA advisor and agriculture teacher from Ritzville, Michael Schrag recently joined
the Foundation board and has generously created the Michael and Linda Schrag Agriculture
Education Scholarship Endowment. The $1,000 scholarship is available for Washington
State University (WSU) juniors and seniors with a 3.0 minimum GPA who have declared
agriculture education as their major. Preference will be first given to graduates of the LindRitzville school district, followed by residents of any wheat-producing counties in Eastern
Washington. In the event a suitable agriculture education candidate is not found from these
areas, the scholarship will be awarded to a student in the WSU Crop and Soil Sciences
Department who meets the above criteria. The scholarship is administered through the
College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at WSU.
Working to advance the
small grains industry
by building support for
programs and activities
that increase public
awareness of farming.
Calendar:
• WWF meeting on
Monday, June 8,
at the Washington
Wheat Foundation
Building in Ritzville,
Wash.
• June Shoot, June 17,
at Landt Farms. Entry
Forms will be available
at wawheat.org.
Reminders:
• Learn about the
recipients of the Jerry
Minore Scholarship
next month.
• WSU Students, go to
cahnrs.wsu.org for
more information on
the Michael and Linda
Schrag Agriculture
Education Scholarship
and the Barbara Pyne
Scholarship.
• The annual golf
tournament date to be
announced soon.
• Remember the
Foundation in your
charitable giving plan
for 2015!
Washington Wheat Foundation: P.O. Box 252, Ritzville, WA 99169 • (509) 659-1987 • wawheat.org
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WL
FEATURE
Getting a
HEAD START
AMMO workshop caters to young, beginning producers
By Trista Crossley
For most young producers, finding the financial help to
get started farming, whether it’s for purchasing land and
equipment or as an operating loan, is one of the biggest
obstacles they’ll face. The Agricultural Marketing and
Management Organization (AMMO), recognizing this
fact, added a workshop to its 2015 schedule where young
and beginning producers could talk directly to lenders
and government agencies about programs and products.
Twenty-seven people attended the conference in mid-January at the Red Lion Hotel in Kennewick.
Wendy Knopp, vice president of Northwest Farm Credit
Services’ (Northwest FCS) AgVision program, kicked off
the conference by talking about AgVision, a specialized
program designed to help young, beginning and small
producers. To qualify for the program, producers must fall
into one of three categories:
• Be 35 years of age or younger; or
• Have no more than 10 years of ag experience in a management position; or
• Have an annual gross farm production of less than
$250,000.
Benefits of the AgVision program include:
• Reduced underwriting criteria;
• Partnerships with other lenders, such as the Farm
Service Agency (FSA), to help with down payments
and loan amounts;
• Waivers of fees such as appraisal fees and loan origination fees; and
• Reimbursement incentives to participate in educational workshops and conferences.
One of the things Knopp stressed was the partnerships Northwest FCS has formed, especially with FSA, to
help producers who need more financing than any one
lender can offer. One of the most popular programs in
Wendy Knopp, vice president of Northwest Farm Credit Services’ AgVision program, talks to workshop attendees about programs available for young and
beginning farmers.
FEATURE
Washington state is the FSA down payment program.
The customer puts up 5 percent of the loan amount, the
FSA lends 45 percent of the loan, and a second lender
puts up the other 50 percent.
“That’s a really nice partnership if the producer has
limited equity,” Knopp said.
Other Northwest FCS AgVision programs Knopp
talked about were:
• JumpStart Loans. This program is for start-up businesses that lack business history and start-up capital. The maximum amount loaned is $100,000, and
that money can be used as operating expenses, a
down payment for other loans, equipment purchases, etc. It is an interest-only loan that is expected
to be repaid in full at the end of five years or, if the
business has been successful, it can be refinanced
into a more conventional loan.
• The RateWise Program. This program encourages
ongoing education by rewarding young, beginning
or small producers credits for attending seminars,
webinars and workshops. Credits, which can be
accumulated over six years, can be used to reduce
interest rates by up to .75 percent on Northwest FCS
loans for three years. Producers don’t have to be
Northwest FCS customers to begin accumulating
credits, but they do have to register for the program
at northwestfcs.com/RateWise.
Another thing attendees learned was how lenders
analyze loan applications. Knopp called them the five
C’s of credit: character, capital, capacity, collateral and
conditions.
Character refers to a person’s financial management
skills and their credit history. Knopp emphasized how
important a person’s credit report is, telling the audience that everyone in the room should know what is on
their credit report and should be checking it yearly for
issues such as collections or errors.
“It’s important for you to look at your report, and if
there are any collections or discrepancies you didn’t
know about, you should get those corrected before you
go to a bank,” she said.
Capital refers to what a person owns versus what
they owe. Creating a balance sheet, Knopp said, will
allow a producer to see what their ratio of debt to assets
is. Knopp encouraged producers to do their balance
sheets at the same time each year to get a consistent
view of their financial situation.
Capacity, very simply, is the ability to repay a loan.
“We are looking at all the income coming in, and
WL
Paula and Jeff Cobb, Ephrata
Jeff and Paula Cobb just want to be farmers.
Jeff helps out on his father and uncle’s 5,000-acre
Columbia Basin irrigated farm where they produce alfalfa, timothy hay, corn, wheat and run about 700 head of
cattle. In fact, Jeff joked that he cut his teeth on the tractor steering wheel and grew up “working on the farm
before and after school, on weekends and throughout
the summers.”
Besides his efforts on the family farm, Jeff also works
for Cascade
Agronomics as a
crop consultant.
As well as owning/operating a
custom-hire hay
production service,
he and Paula have
started a side business producing
small alfalfa and
alfalfa/grass bales
for local horse owners as well as equestrian centers.
They are looking for a way to transition into more of an
ownership position, both within the family farm and on
their own, but they are finding that affordable land in
the Columbia Basin is scarce and expensive.
And finding ground to rent isn’t any easier. The Cobbs
explained that much of the rental ground in the Basin is
either locked in long-term rental contracts or is commanding such high prices that they’d have a hard time
making a profit.
“It is very competitive in the Basin,” Jeff said. “Small
producers like us can’t afford to expand by continuing
to just break even.” He added that with land values in
the basin being so high and margins so close, securing
enough capital to afford a down payment is a difficult
task.
Paula came to the conference hoping to learn more
about working with lenders and understanding the
paperwork and financial numbers lenders want to see, as
well as what help, especially with down payments, lenders can offer young and beginning producers.
“We know we can farm it, and I know we can make
money and be successful at it,” Paula said. “So what can
the lenders do to help ambitious young producers like us
meet our goals and secure the larger loans we’ll need in
the future?”
WL
FEATURE
we are looking at all the expenses
going out,” Knopp said. “Bottom
line, when everything is all said and
done, can you repay your debts?”
She explained that most lenders
want producers to fill out a cash flow
budget that details, by month, all
income and all expenses. Filling out
a cash flow budget gives the producer an opportunity to think about
their day-to-day operation and tests
their ability to project income and
expenses.
Collateral is the security that
backs up a loan, which could be
land, equipment, inventories, etc.
Knopp said Northwest FCS will
usually try to line up collateral with
the type of loan being made, for
example, using crops as collateral for
an operating loan.
Conditions refer to the terms of
the loan, such as loan length, fixed
vs. variable rates, crop insurance, etc.
The next part of the conference
covered business plans with Tim
Cobb of Hatley/Cobb Farmland
Management. Cobb listed four
reasons for developing a business
plan: for clarity, for direction, for
communication and to power action.
He added that for him, a good business plan answers questions in three
areas:
• Operations planning. What do
you do, and how does it get
done. How will the business
grow and protect against risk?
• Marketing planning. Who will
buy the product, and how can
you increase that market share?
• Financial planning. Is this business opportunity viable, and
what are your expectations?
Cobb recommended a University
of Minnesota website, agplan.umn.
edu, that will help producers get
started on writing an ag-centric
business plan. The website includes
sample business plans, videos and
tips and resources.
Matthew Kagele, Odessa
“A little bit of dryland, a little bit of irrigated,” is how Matt Kagele, a
fifth-generation farmer from Odessa, described his family’s farm. Kagele
said he is in the midst of transitioning the farm from his father to himself,
as well as possibly purchasing more ground, so he was mostly interested in
the presentations on financing and writing a
business plan.
“I’ve never had to write up a business plan
for capital, and I wanted to see how you approach a farm business plan,” he said.
With a partial background in accounting,
Kagele said he tends to focus on the financial
side of farming, making sure he knows how
money is spent and what types of loans are
available. He thinks that knowledge will be
especially important if wheat prices continue
to drop and margins shrink. And like most younger farmers, he said finding land to farm is a challenge, but he sees a possible opportunity opening
up with the lower wheat prices.
“I think these lower prices are actually going to start driving some of
those guys who have hung on for the last five or 10 years (to sell or lease
their land),” he explained. “I think maybe a little more ground will open
up, and I think it could be a time where we finally see the average age of
farmers start to come down the mountain it’s been climbing.”
“When we look at a plan, what we are attempting to do is to get a handle
on your business,” Cobb said. “A business plan is a transaction with yourself.
It’s also to make it easier to get someone to believe in you, whether that’s your
lender, your spouse or your merchandiser.”
The conference wrapped up with representatives from government agencies
talking about the programs and services they can offer farmers and ranchers.
Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Joyce NevinsGinsberg, FSA senior farm loan officer in the Pasco office, said
that FSA has been making operating loans and real estate loans since the Dust
Bowl era to people who might have trouble getting credit at the bank. The
maximum FSA direct loan is $300,000 per category, so producers could borrow
up to $600,000 if they have both a real estate loan and an operating loan. FSA
also makes guaranteed loans to a bank for a producer. The FSA guaranteed loan
provides the lender with additional security, allowing some loans to be made
that otherwise wouldn’t. The guarantee can pay a bank up to 90 percent of the
loss on a loan.
NevinsGinsberg said the FSA’s designation for a beginning farmer is only a
designation of experience and stressed that all applications are processed the
same.
“Once the loan is approved, we figure out which funding pot the loan is funded from,” she explained. “An applicant can be designated a beginning farmer,
an underserved applicant, or an underserved, beginning farmer.”
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WL
FEATURE
FSA can work jointly with other lenders, especially on real estate
loans, by helping a producer with a down payment. If the FSA loan
is no more than 50 percent of the purchase price, they can usually
offer a lower interest rate. FSA also offers microloans, which are
loans of no more than $50,000.
“It’s basically to get your foot in the door for starting an operation,” NevinsGinsberg said.
Bruce Clatterbuck, FSA executive director for Franklin County,
spoke briefly about farm programs such as the Conservation
Reserve Program, which offers annual rental payments to producers that agree to set land aside and plant it to a conserving use;
price support, which includes low interest commodity loans where
a crop is used as collateral for up to nine months; the Non-Insured
Assistance Program, which covers crops not covered by federal
crop insurance policies; and the Agricultural Risk Coverage/Price
Loss Coverage safety-net programs and participation deadlines.
For more information on FSA programs, visit their website at
fsa.usda.gov/FSA/ or call your county office.
Risk Management Agency (RMA)
Ryan Mortenson, RMA risk management specialist, explained
that under RMA insurance policies, producers can insure production, revenue and, in some cases, area. For beginning farmers, the
2014 Farm Bill waives administration fees, offers a higher subsidy
of 10 percent and allows a beginning farmer to use the production
history from previous farming operations where he or she was
involved in decision making or physical activities. These benefits
are for all farmers and ranchers who have not actively operated
and managed a farm or ranch for more than five crop years. More
information is available on RMA’s website at rma.usda.gov.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS)
From the Walla Walla NRCS office, Ed Teel touched on the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a voluntary
program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers. Beginning farmers and ranchers are eligible
to receive advanced EQIP payments of up to 50 percent and have
some flexibility in repaying those advance payments.
Teel also talked about the Conservation Stewardship Program
(CSP), telling producers that this is the program they should be
thinking about.
“EQIP, if you are thinking about individual practices, that is the
program,” he explained. “But if you talking about whole farm planning and practices on all your operated acres, you might consider
the CSP program.”
The CSP program offers payments for producers to maintain
and improve existing conservation practices and encourages them
to adopt additional conservation activities to address priority
resources concerns. CSP offers five-year contracts with an option
to renew. Certain producers who sign up for NRCS programs also
Richard Kulm, Lind
On the one hand, Richard Kulm is
in a position many young producers
would envy. The recent Washington State
University graduate was able to lease a
chunk of land that was coming out of the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP),
enough to start farming for himself. On the
other hand,
however, is the
fact he has no
income from a
previous year’s
crop.
“I don’t have
a crop from last
year to pay for
my inputs this
year,” he said.
“So everything this year is all cost.” Kulm plans to
get by his first year through a combination
of loans and working for his father on his
family’s wheat farm in Lind. He was at the
conference to learn more details about farm
credit loans.
“These loans I’m going to be taking out
are very substantial loans, so I’m willing to
go to anything to listen and learn,” he said.
Kulm credited the Transition Incentives
Program (TIP) as the means by which he
was able to lease his land. The TIP program
is a Farm Service Agency program that
provides incentives for retired or retiring
landowners and operators to sell or rent
land enrolled in expiring CRP contracts to
beginning farmers, among other groups.
The new landowners or renters must return
the land to production using sustainable
grazing or farming methods.
“This year, there was no CRP sign-up, so
the contracts that were expiring, nobody
could rebid the land back in. They could
wait, but the biggest thing that would give
everybody the push to not play the waiting
game was the TIP program,” Kulm said.
“That kind of pushes a farmer, gives them a
bonus for pulling the land out and giving a
young farmer a chance.”
have to sign up for a Data Universal
Number System (DUNS) number
and be registered with the System
for Award Management. More
information, including who needs a
DUNS number, is at
nrcs.usda.gov.
Washington State
Department of
Agriculture Rural
Development
While most of what the Rural
Development office does has little
impact on agriculture, Roni Baer, a
business and cooperatives program
specialist with Rural Development,
said they do have two programs
specifically for ag producers. The
Value-Added Producer Grant
helps producers add value to an
agricultural commodity they are
already producing, such as money
for feasibility studies or marketing
plans, expanding a producer’s customer base or selling food to a local
market. Another way to add value is
to generate renewable energy to be
used on-farm, such as an anaerobic
digester for a dairy.
The other program is the
Renewable Energy for America
Program, and it is available to
agricultural producers or rural
small businesses. It helps with grant
funding for the installation of either
a renewable energy system or for
energy efficiency improvements and
works hand in hand with NRCS’s
EQIP program. More information is
available at rd.usda.gov.
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WL
FEATURE
Farm bill program deadline approaches
FSA urges producers to make appointment now
By Trista Crossley
It’s said that good things come to those who wait, but
when it comes to choosing one of the 2014 Farm Bill programs, waiting until the last minute is definitely not the
way to go.
Producers have until March 31 to choose
either Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or
Price Loss Coverage (PLC) for each of their
Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm numbers.
In addition, ARC further breaks down into
a county average option or an individual
average option. The program choice is
binding for the life of the farm bill, and
producers have to weigh the pros and
cons of each program for their particular
situation. In general, though, PLC protects
again price risk, while ARC primarily
protects against yield risk.
“The fact that these programs are somewhat complex
and there are three choices to chose from on each farm
number can be overwhelming for producers,” she said.
“We are urging producers to come in now and talk to their
county office, talk about their preferred
scenario, and at least get the paperwork so
they know if they need to get partners or
landowners to sign.”
Olson was quick to point out that even
if producers make their election now, they
have up until the March 31 deadline to
change it.
Producers have access to at least two online tools to help them analyze their program options. In the December workshops
presented by Extension, the focus was
on Texas A&M University’s decision aid
at decisionaid.afpc.tamu.edu. The Texas
A&M tool also includes a worksheet,
For the last few months, many local
which, when filled out for every crop and/
agencies and stakeholders, including the
Washington FSA State Executive Director
or farm number, will greatly help producJudy Olson
Agricultural Marketing and Management
ers when they start using the online tool.
Organization, FSA and Washington State
The other online decision aid, created by the University of
University Extension (Extension), have been holding
Illinois, is available at farmbilltoolbox.farmdoc.illinois.edu.
workshops and seminars to help producers understand
ARC and PLC. In addition, there are several online tools
where producers can input their data and see how program choices might affect their bottom line in different
scenarios.
Once a producer has chosen which program, or mix of
programs they want, they need to make that election at
their local FSA office by the March 31 deadline, and according to Washington’s FSA State Executive Director Judy
Olson, that’s where the rub is. If producers wait until the
last minute to explore their options and make their election, they run the risk of not only missing the deadline,
but being forced to make a hasty decision. For producers
who miss the election deadline, they will automatically be
enrolled in the PLC program and will be ineligible for any
2014 payments.
Olson said there have been some rumors swirling
through the ag community regarding the farm bill
programs and online tools that might be causing some
confusion. One of those rumors is that changes to the farm
bill programs are still occurring, and so producers should
delay making an appointment with their local FSA office.
Olson said that while some minor policy decisions are
still being reviewed, the programs are set and include the
information producers need.
Another rumor is that the online decision aids include
errors and aren’t worth using. Olson dispelled that rumor
and said both the Texas A&M and University of Illinois
tools are working appropriately. She did acknowledge that
at the end of 2014 there were some PNW commodity yields
missing, but that information has now been added.
For producers who missed the December workshops or just want to see them again,
Washington State University Extension has made videos of the presentations available
online at smallgrains.wsu.edu.
Northwest FCS Board Member Karen Schott
But that comes with the territory when you’re a farmer or a rancher.
You work hard all day with crops and animals. Equipment and
machines. You’re on the ground, in the thick of things.
At customer-owned Northwest Farm Credit Services, farmers and
ranchers make up the board and advisory committee that govern
the cooperative. These leaders understand ag because they work in
it every day.
Learn more about the benefits of being a
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
WL
FEATURE
“The tools are complex and require a bit of farm
data,” she said, reminding growers to make use of the
worksheet included in the Texas A&M decision aid.
“Producers are urged to use that worksheet and complete it before they sit down to use one of the tools, otherwise, they’ll be frustrated. The tools work well, but are
complicated and do require more than five minutes.”
While either decision aid can help growers, Olson said
the University of Illinois tool is simpler to use but seems
geared more towards corn and soybean growers. She
said it might be adequate for some growers with a simple
wheat-summer fallow rotation. Growers with more complex cropping systems or bases in multiple commodities
will probably
find the Texas
Online decision aids:
A&M tool more
decisionaid.afpc.tamu.edu
useful.
farmbilltoolbox.farmdoc.illinois.edu
In preparation
for the new farm
bill programs, FSA offices throughout the state have been
filling vacancies and providing training for staff to make
sure producers can get their questions answered. Olson
said growers who have been able to walk in without an
appointment at their county offices in the past might not
have that option right now.
“Everybody is going to be taking appointments, because the FSA staff is smaller than the last time we did a
farm bill, but we are much more robust then even a year
ago, and we are backfilling more full-time positions than
we had a year ago,” she said. “Call the county office and
make an appointment. That is the bottom line here.”
For their FSA appointment, producers should plan
to bring with them documentation for any changes in
their operation, from lease changes to changes in family
structure, as well as legal descriptions for any ground
they’ve added. They should also bring information about
any partners and landlords. Most importantly, producers
should have spent time running scenarios in the online
decision aids. One thing producers should not expect is
to have FSA staff train them on using the decision aids.
Olson said the staff can answer questions and provide
clarification, but most of the offices don’t have the manpower to work with producers one-on-one within the
decision aids.
“Contact your county office sooner rather than later,”
Olson stressed. “Make an appointment now. We are
open for business. We want to help producers, but if everybody comes in on March 31, it’s going to be very, very
difficult to get everyone processed in a timely manner
under our current regulations and guidance.”
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WL
FEATURE
Giving farmers a face
It’s time to personalize agriculture
By JD Rosman
If you asked the average American who the face of agriculture
is today, could they tell you? Better yet, could you tell them?
Probably not. The fact is, successful ad campaigns have a recognizable face associated with the product. We all know the
GEICO gecko, Flo from Progressive and Jared from Subway.
Who is the face of our industry? We don’t have one. We
are fighting the public’s perception and misconceptions of
agriculture.
“Factory farming” and “corporate farms” are terms consistently used to describe farming today. We all know the statistic: only 2 percent of
the population is engaged in farming, leaving the remaining 98 percent of the U.S.
population with little or no connection to how their food is grown. So now we not
only fight Mother Nature and high input costs, we have to fight the negative connotations and false propaganda that is associated with farming. Unfortunately, many
Americans don’t even know where milk comes from or what gluten is, but they
sure think we should avoid it! This disconnect allows for speculation, rumors and
misunderstanding to occur when discussing American agriculture.
Farming is a family industry. Many view agriculture as mass production and
“corporate farms,” but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 96 percent
of farms are family owned and operated. We know this, yet the average consumer
doesn’t. They see a conglomerate set out to pollute and poison the environment. We
feed the world, but some see us as the source of disease and obesity in this country. We
fight policy, regulations and red tape, anti-GMO organizations, environmental groups
and legislation.
As an industry, our stance has been mostly reactive and only after there is a target on us.
I-522 is a perfect example. I-522 was a Washington state initiative that, had it passed, would
have required all products containing GMOs to be labeled. We had to react because of the irresponsible actions of a few vocal supporters of the anti-GMO movement. It’s time to start a new
trend by launching a public relations campaign and go on the offensive. We don’t need to attack
these organizations that criticize us; we simply need to show the world who we are and what we
do.
It’s time to become a transparent industry and personalize agriculture.
It’s time to show America the true face of a farmer.
How do we do this? We need to use technology to reach the masses. As an industry, we
must tell the story of agriculture through videos, images and words. Show consumers a
wheat farmer, an orchardist, a cattleman. Show them everything. Consumers need
to see the rancher working in his pasture or carrying a newborn calf into the
barn during a snowstorm. They need to see the wheat farmer who’s
up before the sun, fueling and greasing his combine, working
14 hours nonstop only to get up and do it again the next
day. Consumers need to see a farmer repairing
equipment in the sweltering heat. They
need to see grandfathers and grand42 WHEAT LIFE MARCH 2015
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For spring wheat growers, GoldSky® herbicide hits the mark. With two modes of action, GoldSky delivers cross-spectrum
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WL
FEATURE
kids hauling grain to the elevator; cousins stacking hay
together; mothers and kids pulling a calf or fixing a fence;
a dad and his toddler eating out of a lunchbox on the tractor. They need to see that a “corporate” farm is really just a
hard-working family sometimes struggling to make ends
meet, trying to be good stewards of the land so they can
pass it down to their children and grandchildren. It is our
job to capture these everyday moments and share them
in order to show the world just who we are. We need the
viewer to connect with us and see us not as a corporate
farm, but as a family farm.
We live in a technologically advanced world where
many Americans get their information from social media,
apps on their smart phone, newsfeeds and email. They
want information given to them in a short, concise format
that sparks interest immediately. While the average farmer
may still prefer to get their information via the post, the
average consumer is not the same. We must adapt to
their style of gathering information. Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Vine, YouTube and blogs are great ways to
connect with consumers. Videos are an effective way to
capture attention, yet the average person scrolling through
social media doesn’t want to watch a video more than two
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informative, entertaining and engaging information in
two minutes or less. Most posts on social media have all
but two seconds to grab the viewer’s attention before they
scroll past.
Think about Dodge’s “So God Made a Farmer” commercial. Two minutes, where everyone stopped talking
and listened. Two minutes and we all watched with the
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We wanted to watch this. It struck
an emotional chord with viewers
while drawing a perfect picture of
American agriculture. We can do
this too. We need to do this. Let’s
reach out to those who enjoy the
fruits of our labors and show them
who we are, make them trust us and
establish a connection. It’s our turn
to give farmers a face.
JD Rosman was the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ 2013 ambassador. He grew up on his family’s wheat
and cattle farm and graduated from
Creston High School. JD is currently
attending Oklahoma State University
where he is majoring in agricultural
communications.
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Gary Wegner, Columbia River Carbonates
A recipe for fixing sour soil
By Kevin Gaffney
Gary Wegner is a man passionate about his work. As a
third-generation Lincoln County wheat farmer, Wegner
was always devoted to properly caring for and conserving
the natural resources of the land.
Wegner raised wheat, barley and canola on the family
farm, which his family recently sold to Rich and Sandy
Moos, his first cousin from nearby Edwall. In fact, Sandy’s
mom, Dorothy, was born in the home on their Reardan
farm.
“Our grandparents would be proud to see the new
generations caring for the land. We were glad to be able to
keep it in the family,” Wegner said. “It has been our family
farm since 1905.”
Wegner didn’t join the family business after earning his degree in animal nutrition and ag economics at
Washington State University. He began his career with
Ralston Purina in Spokane, later transferring to the west
side of the state.
When Ralston Purina cut their U.S. sales staff by half,
Wegner went to work for Farm Credit Banks. Part of his
work there was developing a training program for the
Farm Credit AgriFax program. Wegner then had a stint
as a college instructor at Centralia College. He returned
home to manage the family farm in 1976.
No one should assume that Wegner is now retired because he sold the farm. His new passion is something that
he has been involved with for the past 25 years on his own
farm, maintaining proper pH levels in the soil.
“We discovered some soil acidity problems on our farm
years ago that we needed to solve,” said Wegner. “In the
course of my study on the use of lime to ensure proper soil
health, I found that most farmers in our region were not
well informed on the critical importance of soil acidity.”
Wegner began working with Columbia River
Carbonates (CRC), based in Woodland, Wash., about five
years ago. His company now has a contract to represent
CRC in the Inland Northwest.
Established in 1985, CRC is a supplier of high-grade,
ultra-finely ground calcium carbonate products in various
pelletized and liquid formulations. They produce products
for paper, paint, glass and plastic industries, as well as
agriculture.
Calcium carbonate is a product of 400 million years of
earth’s historical work. The pure white limestone of today
was made from the calcite skeletons of tiny sea creatures
called coccoliths. Continuous collisions and folding of the
earth’s crust over the eons manufactured the mineral now
known as calcium carbonate (limestone).
Wegner is excited about their product applications for
agriculture, especially the NuCal™ ultra-micronized liquid and the Microna™ agricultural lime in the pelletized
formulation.
“Soil pH is something that has not been a priority in our
region over the years,” explained Wegner. “We have been
extremely fortunate that our native soils were blessed with
excellent pH levels naturally. However, the use of ammonia fertilizers has depleted the natural reserves of calcium
carbonate in the soil.
“The ideal pH level is 6.5 to produce top small grains
yields. We have done extensive soil pH testing, and
levels as low as 4.0 to 4.5 are very common in Eastern
Washington and North Idaho. This is truly a serious
problem.
“Some of our neighbors were experiencing significant
yield drops, and they thought it was wireworms. They
may have had wireworms, but soil testing found major
issues with low soil pH levels.”
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Wegner believes CRC has a calcium carbonate product to fit every
different farming operation.
“Our pelletized product is perfect
for direct seeding applications,”
noted Wegner. “It can be placed near
the seed to provide effective results.
“Lime treatments can also be applied in liquid form with sprayers. It
does require some extra setup, but
it can be applied efficiently with just
a few nozzles. You need to tap into
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the pump, plumbing to a new boom
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How much to apply is completely
unique to each farmer’s soils and to
how they want to treat the problem.
A treatment of 35 gallons per acre
may be enough, or it may take 50 or
more gallons per acre.
Wegner notes that depending
upon the rate of application needed,
the spray tank will empty pretty
quickly, with one sprayer capable of
applying up to three semi-loads of
product per day.
“Proper field testing is very
important,” said Wegner. “Reliable
testers are not very expensive and
learning to use them is not complicated. We teach the proper testing
methods to farmers regularly. We
also recommend that each farmer
work with their agronomist to make
a long-term plan to maintain soil
health.”
Wegner demonstrated soil pH
testing at a recent lime conference
held in Moscow, Idaho. Farmers
and agronomists used soil samples
on hand to test pH levels and
become familiar with the testing
instruments.
Wegner stressed that every farm
is unique, and that different areas of
each farm may vary widely in the
soil pH level readings.
“Places where corners are often
turned, or field entry and exit points where overlapping of fertilizer products
has occurred may show lower pH levels,” said Wegner. “We encourage multiple
testing of each field unit. I believe it’s best to begin with your most productive
fields. Test and treat them first, then move on to the next best fields. There is no
need to do an entire farm all at once.
“Calcium carbonate works better in wet soil. It will help raise the pH level
more quickly. Dryer years are more difficult, but you never lose the product. It
just may take longer until moisture moves it through the profile to raise the pH
level in a dryer year.
“I’m often asked about the best time to apply the product. I tell them either
this afternoon or tomorrow morning,” said Wegner with a laugh. “There is
never any reason to wait, if you know a field has a low pH level.”
For more information, Wegner can be reached at (509) 998-2932, by email at
[email protected] or find CRC online at carbonates.com.
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By Steve Claassen
If you think the wheat industry is a backwater compared to corn and soybeans, you’re wrong. Because
ours is a world food crop with many classifications and
standards, there are an extraordinary number of issues
percolating through the trade at any given moment.
Contrasting classes refers to the phenomenon of finding red seed in a white variety or vice versa. Back in the
old days, when Pacific Northwest land-grant universities
were the only ones releasing varieties, it wasn’t much of
a problem because there was always time to get a variety
cleaned up and ready to go. But as the number of companies releasing varieties has increased, along with a more
rapid turnover of varieties, varietal purity has become an
issue.
Some variety developers argue that if it’s not hurting
commercial farmers or exporters, what’s the problem?
Just blend off the offending samples. That reminds me
of the description of a slippery slope, and how a relatively small first step can culminate in significant and
unforeseen problems. Not to mention, varietal purity is a
concern for those who grow certified seed, and they are
certainly a crucial part of our wheat system.
Until now, the Washington State Seed Lab has used
sodium hydroxide to bleach the outside seed coat to see
a seed’s true pigmentation, but that approach can give
false positives. The WGC recently agreed to support the
formation of a task force to investigate a more definitive
method of genetic testing, such as electrophoresis, an
old-style, inexpensive, gel-based DNA test, on questionable seeds. This test can assist in determining whether
off types are the result of escapes in the handling system
or flaws in a breeding program and keep us from any
unintended consequences.
Regarding grain standards, the WGC supports the
upcoming reauthorization of the U.S. Grain Standards
Act which created the Federal Grain Inspection Service
(FGIS) in 1976 and included language at the time which
allows the inspection authority to be delegated to
Washington state. For those of you who remember the
United Grain Corporation (UGC) snafu when state inspectors wouldn’t cross a union picket line due to safety
concerns and then federal officials balked at ordering
their inspectors in, also citing safety, you might wonder
I think of the UGC problem last year like those research graphs you see of grain yield or disease incidence
based upon location, the ones with dots following a
trend line. Except there are always outliers—dots that
are completely off base from the main grouping. I believe
the UGC fiasco was off base, an outlier, something that
happened, but is unlikely to ever happen again.
Granted, I was unhappy when state inspectors pulled
out of UGC, and I was really ticked when FGIS didn’t
accept their statutory authority and take over the state’s
duties. I want that fixed, for sure. At the same time, we
can’t let one experience overshadow years of superlative
service and seamless cooperation between FGIS and the
state. That’s why, along with Larry Cochran, president of
the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, we sent a
letter to our congressional delegation and others, asking
for the grain standards act to be renewed.
I sent a different sort of letter last month to the Seattle
Times about the slowdown in container loading caused
by the tit-for-tat behavior of the International Longshore
and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime
Association (PMA). If you haven’t heard, the slowdown
in moving containers to ships is the result of stalled contract negotiations. It has stranded all sorts of Washington
commodities on docks and at inland locations.
The situation is hurting wheat exports by container,
but because our commodity is mostly exported in bulk
cargo ships, we haven’t felt the pinch as badly as some
farmers in the state. Nevertheless, the board felt this was
an opportunity for the WGC to show our solidarity with
Washington’s other agricultural commodities, while at
the same time, addressing the importance of our export
trade. As I wrote in my letter, “America is rightly proud
to be thought of as the place customers can depend to
get their agricultural products. The ILWU and the PMA’s
actions place that standard in jeopardy.”
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION
Depending on deadlines, partisan politics, consumer
acceptance—even world economic conditions—dozens of issues are waiting for their turn to have the heat
turned up. Three examples your commissioners and
WGC staff have been working on behind the scenes during the first two months of the new year involve contrasting classes, grain standards and container movement.
why we’re supportive.
Our industry is frequently referred to as the grain
chain because of the links that bind us together. Farmers,
input dealers, warehousemen, railroad engineers, river
captains, dock hands, exporters, ship workers, millers,
bakers, customers—I’m sure I’m missing a few—all are
needed. If the chain breaks anywhere along its length,
our product is worthless.
The WGC is constantly monitoring the many elements
on the wheat industry stove as the issues mentioned
above indicate. The debates can get pretty heated at
times, but as your representatives to the greater wheat
world, staying in the kitchen is what we do!
Umm...no
It just might happen
54 Enjoying those low fuel prices? Careful what you wish for. Nigeria, which was
America’s No. 3 wheat importer in 2013/14 depends on oil extraction for 80
percent of its revenue. Although no Northwest wheat goes to Nigeria, if a
rising tide lifts all boats, a falling one will drop them. Speaking of dropping,
the U.S. had its smallest crop in three years, but the rest of the world hauled
in a bumper harvest. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of
the United Nations, the 2014/15 world wheat crop is on track to be the highest in history at 722.6 million metric tons.
It’s kind of like that
The Economist, a British business magazine,
recently used the controversy over wolves
in the western U.S. to explain a schism a
lot bigger than the reintroduction of canis
lupus. “Dig a bit, and a culture war is raging
between the ‘old West’ of rugged ranchers
and hunters who once earned respect and
status by taming nature, but who now find
themselves called environmental menaces
by ‘new West’ incomers with big-city ideas
about animal rights and natural ecosystems.
Behind that local clash—pitting folk with
guns racks on their trucks against those with
bike racks...there lurks a still larger suspicion
of the federal government. Many ‘old West’
types see a plot to drive ranchers from the
land. They talk of ‘federal wolves’ undermining their property
rights and challenging the Godordained duty of
humans to protect
their own families
and exercise dominion over Creation.”
For the record, there were
at least two wolf attacks on
sheep in Whitman County
in 2014, the nation’s No. 1
wheat-growing county.
You might have heard that a national checkoff for wheat, much like the check-offs
that exist for soybeans and beef, has been
hauled up the flagpole to see if it will fly. At
the Washington Grain Commission’s January
meeting in Pullman, board members gave
the idea a unanimous thumbs down—for
the time being anyway. Commissioners
believe there must be much more information available before a national check-off is
even considered. Furthermore, they want
individual wheat states to investigate revising their assessment policies to adequately
fund our favorite commodity’s future.
Silence as traders stop shouting
No one knows when open outcry markets
began, but some trace it to 1730 in
Osaka, Japan, when merchants traded rice
futures. Alas, the frenzied atmosphere of
trading floors where traders used hand signals and shouts to buy and sell commodities is no
more. The CME Group recently voted to close
most of its future trading pits in Chicago and
New York. Blame the computer and high-speed
electronic trading.
Measuring up the future
WGC Commissioner Dana Herron recently attended the Pacific Northwest
Wheat Quality Council (PNW WQC) meeting in San Francisco, calling it one
of the few places the entire wheat value chain is represented and focused on
quality. Representatives of 20 domestic and foreign mills were present at the
meeting, along with bakers, breeders and researchers. Herron said the size
of a milling or baking business frequently determines the performance they
want from a variety. Through the PNW WQC’s use of standardized testing
protocols, each variety is evaluated on the same set of measures. Herron said
it’s not just varieties that are assessed. Breeders also come away knowing
whether they are on the right track. Some varieties in this year’s tests had
excellent agronomic benefits, but performed very poorly in mill and bake
performance. Herron said that both public and private breeders need to
be discouraged “in every possible way” not to release varieties that do not
meet minimum end-use quality standards. “Historically, the private breeding companies have been the worst offenders and still struggle to meet the
minimum standards for quality,” he said.
WGC REVIEW
WL
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Photo courtesy of whitehouse.gov
U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe at a press conference in 2014.
The future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
trade deal is dripping with irony on both sides of
the Pacific. President Barack Obama, a Democrat,
is more likely to get the fast track authority he
needs to push the treaty through Congress from
the free-trade-oriented Republicans now in the
majority. A group within Obama’s own party,
however, is teaming up with a coalition of labor,
environmental and religious groups to rally
against the provision that permits an up or down
vote in Congress without reopening any of the
deal’s provisions. Shinzo Abe, the prime minister
of Japan, meanwhile, won a snap election which
allows him to confront one his party’s biggest
allies, Japan Agriculture (JA). A lobbying group,
it controls most aspects of pricing and distribution through a network of farming cooperatives
in Japan, and it doesn’t like TPP. For an industry
that is only about 1 percent of Japan’s economy,
agriculture has a symbolism that goes beyond its
economic clout. But if Abe can’t discipline agriculture, then foreign investors may conclude he’s
not serious about structural reform of the larger
Japanese economy. Abe wants to break the JA
system to help farmers become more productive
and profitable and attract a younger generation.
The typical farmer in Japan today is more than
70 years old. Consolidating Japan’s farms, which
average about five acres, would be a start. TPP
isn’t just a Japan/U.S. deal. Twelve countries are
involved in the negotiations or about 40 percent
of the world’s economy. If TPP becomes a reality,
the boost to Japan’s economy would be huge.
Currently, the impact of duties combined with
domestic protection mean the Japanese spend
14 percent of their household budgets on food
compared with 6 percent for Americans.
Small grain haven
In the 10 months since Washington State University’s small grains
website, smallgrain.wsu.edu, has been active, 2,127 individuals have
visited a total of 4,324 times. The wheat and small grains website is
the brainchild of the Extension Dryland Cropping Systems team led
by Drew Lyon, Endowed Chair, Small Grains Extension and Research,
Weed Science. It’s the team’s intent the site be
the one-stop shop for Washington farmers looking for information that will help them grow a
better wheat crop. The average duration of a
visit was 4 minutes, 37 seconds, long by computer standards. The site’s “bounce rate,” that is
the percentage of visitors who look at only one
page before leaving, was 48 percent. Anything
less than 60 percent is considered good. Lyon
said the team plans to survey growers in the coming year to learn
more about how they navigate the site, and what was most useful.
A comment from a seedsman at a local cooperative attested to the
site’s effectiveness. “The new variety selection tool located within the
small grains website has been extremely useful to me as a certified
seed conditioner when visiting growers in our market area. I utilized
this selection tool many times per day throughout the fall 2014 planting season. The tool allows producers to look at ALL factors when
making a variety selection beginning with genetic background of
the wheat variety and working through to the yield as well as disease
resistance. In my opinion, this selection tool will assist our growers in
selecting better varieties for the regions they farm.”
WHEAT LIFE MARCH 2015 WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION
Ironic negotiations
The mark of a good agricultural economist is not whether his
forecasts are correct—the best will argue they never are—but
whether he can provide important perspectives while keeping his
audience’s attention. Randy Fortenbery, who holds the Thomas B.
Mick Endowed Chair in Small Grain Economics at Washington State
University, did both before a large crowd at the opening of the 61st
Annual Farm Forum in Spokane on Feb. 3. Calling the 2014 Farm Bill
“probably the most complicated farm bill we’ve had maybe ever,”
Fortenbery said farmers shouldn’t attempt to choose between the
Price Loss Coverage (PLC) option and the Agricultural Risk Coverage
(ARC) option hoping to maximize government payments. To do so
would require accurately forecasting prices out to at least 2018, a
fool’s errand as anyone who has tried to predict prices a week from
now will attest. “You really need to step back and not think about
maximizing government payments, but try to decide if it is price risk
or yield risk that is your biggest challenge as you go through the life
of the farm bill,” he said. “The two programs generate very different
levels of protection, and with rising prices, generally, the ARC would
be a better choice. With declining prices, at least for those price levels
set for the life of the farm bill, the PLC may generate higher payments.”
55
WL
WGC REVIEW
What a tangled web
That’s a lot of microbes!
About 50 billion microbes live in a typical tablespoon of
soil, which means there are trillions upon trillions of bacteria in soils around the world. Researchers have found a
few bacteria are specialized enough to provide a protective
shield around seeds and plants, a benefit companies like
Monsanto, Bayer AG, DuPont and BASF are beginning to investigate by forming partnerships or buying out companies
that specialize in biological-based pesticides. Bio-pesticides
are now a $5 billion market or about 4 percent of the $54
billion market in agricultural chemicals worldwide. One of
their most widely used applications is coating soybeans and
other legumes to better absorb nutrients and fight fungus.
Besides being able to roll out products faster than manmade synthetics, biologicals can also be used on organic
crops. It’s not yet known whether microbes will be as successful as GMO seeds. And some groups warn mass deployment could cause problems of their own. Ann Kennedy, a
soil microbiologist with the Agricultural Research Service of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, received Washington
Grain Commission funding to work on her biological which
can reduce cheatgrass growth and survives in the soil for
only a short time. Although it doesn’t have a commercial
distributor yet, the first bacterial bio-herbicide has already
been registered by the Environmental Protection Agency,
and another is in the process of registration. They will be
available for use within the next two years.
Ripping wheat trade fabric
Yemen, an important soft white wheat customer, is coming
apart at the seams. The U.S. and other western nations recently closed their embassies in the country as Houthi rebels
ousted the American-leaning president and took over the
government. In the 2013/14 marketing year, Yemen took 390
metric tons of soft white wheat, ranking it fifth on the list of
top 10 white wheat markets.
It’s estimated that 40 percent of Iraq’s annual wheat production is under the Islamic State’s control. Alongside barley
and rice, wheat is one of Iraq’s most important food staples.
Over the years, the crop has had its share of intrigue in Iraq.
There was the Oil for Food investigation which found the
Australian Wheat Board sold grain at inflated prices and
kicked back the extra to Saddam Hussein. For a brief period
after the U.S. invaded Iraq, large amounts of American
wheat were exported there. In the last few years, however,
most of Iraq’s wheat has come from Australia, Canada and
Russia. In the areas they control, the Islamic State is keeping
state employees and warehouse operators in place to help
run their wheat operations.
A new slate of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) officers, including a WGC
commissioner, was introduced at the organization’s January meeting.
From left are Alan Tracy, president of USW; Jason Scott of Maryland, vice
chairman; Mike Miller of Washington, secretary/treasurer; Brian O’Toole
of North Dakota, chairman; and Roy Motter of California, past chairman.
Three cheers!
Mike Miller, a Ritzville-based farmer who has served on the
Washington Grain Commission for four years, was elected
secretary/treasurer of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) at the
group’s national meeting in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31.
Miller, a fourth-generation farmer, operates a dryland wheat
farm and grows multiple crops on a separate, irrigated farm.
Upon his election, Miller said he sees the wheat industry’s opportunities and challenges through the eyes of his children,
Lacey, 14; Spencer, 12; and Cooper, 10. “What we do over the
next few years will greatly affect the next generation. I’m
excited to be working as part of the USW leadership team to
help meet those challenges and grow new overseas markets,” he said. Officers serve for one year in their positions before moving up. Jason Scott, who farms wheat in Maryland,
was named USW vice chairman, while Brian O’Toole of North
Dakota was elected chairman. Roy Motter of California will
become past chairman. The new officers begin their terms at
USW’s annual meeting in San Diego in July.
WGC REVIEW
On your marks, get set, lose!
Truth or consequences
Scientists believe the news media has done a poor job of educating the public.
A recent Pew survey found that three quarters of all scientists say a major
problem is that news reports fail to distinguish between findings that are well
founded and those that are not. Just 15 percent of scientists rate TV coverage
as good or excellent. Scientists and the general public disagree on important
issues, most notably 87 percent of scientists believe in evolution while just 32
percent of the public accepts that humans and other living things evolved over
time. Another big difference is in global warming. Eighty-four percent of scientists say the earth is getting warmer because of human activity. Just 49 percent
of the public agrees. Ninety-three percent of scientists favor the use of animals
in research; only 52 percent of the public agrees. When it comes to food, men
are slightly more likely than women to perceive the positive impact of science
on food: 71 percent vs. 62 percent.
A model or a guess?
A U.S. Department of Agriculture economic model that looks at global agricultural simulations over a 50-year timespan,
starting in 2004, envisions the world of
2050 having grown to 9.3 billion people.
But it’s also a world where increasing land
productivity has allowed crop yields to
grow even as other inputs to agricultural
production are held constant. This rosy
scenario comes with average, world-percapita real income doubling from $7,000
to $14,000, putting more people in the
middle class to eat more of what agriculture produces. Called FARM, for Future
Agricultural Resource Model, the software/computer prognosticator expects
a continuation of recent productivity
growth trends into the future, allowing
farmers to respond to
increased demand.
Under a low-productivity scenario,
however, high
commodity
prices and
additional environmental
stress would
result.
A happy ending
Research indicates there’s something to be said for
not eating at all hours. A 2012 study showed that mice,
prevented from eating whenever they wanted, avoided
obesity and metabolic problems even if they didn’t eat the
most healthful items. A new study fed mice various diets.
Some mice were allowed to eat whenever they wanted.
Others were restricted to feeding periods of nine, 12 or 15
hours. Caloric intake for all mice was the same. While the eat-anytime mice
soon became fat and unhealthy, the mice that ate within a nine- or 12-hour
window remained sleek and healthy. Furthermore, mice that were switched
out of the eat-anytime scenario lost weight under a time-restricted schedule.
It’s believed the difference between the groups is based on influences of the
body’s internal clock. Bottom line? Restrict your eating to 12 hours or less a day,
and remember, the clock begins with that first cup of coffee in the morning!
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Ron Mittelhammer, dean of the College of Agricultural, Human
and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) at Washington State
University (WSU), attended the WGC’s January board meeting,
looking no worse for wear following a health scare that at one point
had doctors telling his wife to prepare for the worst. Mittelhammer
was struck down by what appeared to be an aneurism on Nov. 12.
It’s rare for a patient to be able to continue to converse after such
an event, but although Mittelhammer has no memory of it, he answered detailed questions throughout the ordeal and the MedStar
WGC commissioner Dana Herron (left) and Ron Mittelhammer, dean
of Washington State University’s College of Agricultural, Human
helicopter flight to Spokane. That ability was the tip off to his
and Natural Resource Sciences, talk during a break at the January
neurosurgeon that bleeding was at a minimum, and no inordinate
meeting of the Washington Grain Commission in Pullman.
pressure was building on his brain. Rather than do exploratory surgery, the surgeon waited. Eight days in intensive care, another six in the hospital and two weeks after his initial headache (“like
none other I ever had in my entire life”), Mittelhammer was recovering at home. In a note he wrote thanking everyone for their
thoughts and wishes, he said, “I will come away from this enormous challenge a wiser person, with many additional perspectives and a heightened and recharged appreciation for life, relationships, CAHNRS, WSU and all the magnificent people in it.”
REPORTS
WA S H I N G TO N G R A I N CO M M I S SION
Building on the
shoulders of giants
WSU’s 100th variety to be released this spring
By Scott A. Yates
Wheat farming may have started 10,000 years ago, but it’s only been
within the last 115 that scientists have begun to understand enough
about the plant’s genetic machinery to improve upon it through
breeding.
One of the first to perceive this remarkable ability was William Jasper
Spillman, the 11th of 15 children born to Missouri farmers Emily and
Nathan Spilman (William changed the spelling in college). Arguably
the world’s first wheat breeder, Spillman was definitely the first to
breed wheats at Washington State University (WSU). His 1901 paper,
“Quantitative Studies on the Transmission of Parental Characters to
Hybrid Offspring,” played a major role in the acceptance of Gregor
Mendel’s lost Laws of Inheritance. It also laid the groundwork for his
departure from Pullman to Washington, D.C., where he served in influential positions within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and
became known as the founder of agricultural economics.
Although they are all deceased, the echoes of
Washington’s early plant breeders live on. (From top
left) Orville Vogel (right) talks with Kenny Morrison, a
beloved WSU agronomist, in a field of Paha wheat, a
club variety released jointly by Robert Allan and Vogel
in 1970. Edward Gaines was not only a Harvard-trained
wheat breeder, he was Vogel’s mentor. Vogel named
Gaines and NuGaines, the world’s first semidwarf
wheats, after him. But it all started with William Jasper
Spillman, a Missouri farm kid who came west and
figured out the genetic Laws of Inheritance, creating
the science of wheat breeding while working at WSU.
Photos courtesy of WSU Extension.
WGC REPORTS
said, citing the likes of Spillman, Edward Gaines and
Vogel. “In my opinion, they had a broader perspective
on things. They were more self-sufficient. They certainly
didn’t have the multidisciplinary
teams current breeders and even
I had during my career. And they
were world renowned!”
Spillman’s legacy is being honored this spring with
WSU’s release of a new winter wheat variety targeted for
the 12-to-18-inch precipitation zone as a replacement for
Xerpha and several private varieties. Named “Jasper,”
the variety (formerly known as WA8169) is not just
noteworthy for its namesake, but as the 100th cultivar
released from the Pullman campus since Spillman’s hard
white club, Hybrid 60, was introduced in 1905.
Peterson agrees Spillman was
basically a one-man band, his only
knowledge of genetics coming as a
result of his own research. Not to
mention, there were only a few varieties he could use to make crosses Clarence Peterson
with, a much different environment
from the one Peterson faced when he took over WSU’s
breeding’s duties in 1972.
Fifteen breeders working for WSU and the USDA’s
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have contributed
to the campus’ variety total over
the last 110 years. Although WSU’s
current winter wheat breeder,
Arron Carter, is being credited with
releasing the 100th variety, Jasper’s
pedigree is only the latest example
that breeding is all about building
on the shoulders of giants.
“When you start going back three
or four generations and see that the Arron Carter
material we’re working with today
came through the efforts of people like Spillman, Orville
Vogel, Bob Allan, Clarence Peterson and others, you get
a real sense of the foundation of the breeding program
at WSU,” Carter said. “I’m using material that is already
adapted to the Pacific Northwest
because my predecessors worked so
hard to make it that way.”
Two of the varieties in Jasper’s
background, Lewjain, released in
1982, and Madsen, released in 1988,
were once favorites of farmers in
Washington themselves. Those varieties, meanwhile, contain the echoes
of material from Vogel and Warren
Bob Allan
Kronstad, Oregon State University’s
long-time wheat breeder.
Clarence Peterson and Bob Allan have both been retired for years, but their minds are as quick as ever, pulling up memories from 50 years ago as fast as any Google
search. Now in their 80s, both are still a bit awestruck by
their predecessors at WSU.
“It’s hard to measure up to those early guys,” Allan
“During my career, plant breeders throughout the
Pacific Northwest cooperated closely. We were always
exchanging information, knowledge of equipment and
how we handled our breeding programs,” he said.
Although the six varieties Spillman released were
numbered, public varieties from WSU and the ARS
have all received names since then. Kim Campbell, ARS
geneticist and club wheat breeder, said she prefers names
over the numbers some private companies have adopted
to identify their varieties. She’s especially fond of WSU’s approach of
naming varieties after people who
deserve recognition. Like Spillman.
On the other hand, she doesn’t
generally name her varieties after
people because, “I don’t want to
name a line for somebody and
then have it crash.” Several breeders mentioned the act of naming
Kim Campbell
a variety is the point at which a
release decides to show its Achilles’ heel. And that hurts,
Campbell said, because while farmers will forget a failed
numbered line easily, they remember names.
But, it was during Spillman’s brief, seven-year sojourn
(1894-1901) at what was then called the Washington
Agricultural College and School of Science, that he
established the foundation for the improvement of wheat
varieties within the state, the nation and throughout the
world. Not to mention, he served as coach of the school’s
first football team, the Farmers.
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It’s easy to imagine breeders watching the success of
their variety releases with a horse-race mentality, but
while Campbell said she enjoys a friendly competition
among her colleagues, the satisfaction of releasing a
variety that farmers adopt goes well beyond any rivalry
or even academic success.
“A released variety means much more to me than a
published paper in a journal, because you get to go out
and see the variety you developed from three seeds you
held in the palm of your hand being grown all over the
hillsides and up and down the road as far as you can
see,” she said.
WGC REPORTS
Peterson had a similar reaction in
his time. “I loved driving down the
highway and knowing that was my
variety, but as far as going out and
celebrating, we never had a party
after a variety was released.”
In fact, Peterson said, he was
more worried than proud when
one of his varieties made it to the
market.
“I went from concerned to
worried to hopeful to eventually
relieved,” he said. “If a variety did
well, I didn’t care about the results
being published, although I needed
that for my paycheck. But I did
always worry that growers were
going to be
hurt by growing one of my
varieties.”
Kim
Kidwell, who
served as
WSU’s spring
wheat breeder
for 15 years
Kim Kidwell
and is now
executive associate dean of the
College of Agricultural, Human
and Natural Resource Sciences, said
at a breeder’s core is the desire to
help farmers by developing varieties that reduce production risks,
enhance environmental safety
and maintain a safe and ample
food supply. Any sense of competition she felt with others was
constructive.
“We raise the bar for each other.
My last success is everyone’s next
target and vice versa. If this is well
done, we continually raise the bar
which is a good thing for growers
because it means varieties continually improve,” she said.
Mike Pumphrey, who took over
Kidwell’s spring wheat breeding
duties in 2010, said competition
comes in more than one flavor.
Fifteen breeders, 100 varieties, countless innovations
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William Jasper Spillman
Hybrid 60 . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1905
Hybrid 63 . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907
Hybrid 108 . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907
Hybrid 123 . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907
Hybrid 128 . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907
Hybrid 143 . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907
Edward F. Gaines
Mayview . . . . . . . . . . . SRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1915
Triplet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SRW . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1918
Ridit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1923
Albit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1926
Flomar . . . . . . . . . . . . . HWS . . . . . . . . . . . . 1933
Hymar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1935
Orville A. Vogel
Orfed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1943
Marfed . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1946
Brevor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1947
Orin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1949
Omar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1955
Burt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1956
Gaines . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1961
Nugaines . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1965
Walter L. Nelson
McCall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1965
Wanser . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1965
Robert E. Allan
Paha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1970
Coulee . . . . . . . . . . . . HWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1971
Tyee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979
Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982
Tres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984
Madsen . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988
Hyak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988
Rely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991
Rulo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994
Coda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000
George W. Bruehl
Sprague . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972
John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1985
Clarence “Pete” Peterson
Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1970
Norco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974
Barbee . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976
Raeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976
Daws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976
Lewjain . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982
Dusty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1985
Eltan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1990
Kmor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1990
Rod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992
Hiller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998
Calvin F. Konzak
Wandell . . . . . . . . Spring Durum . . . . . . . . 1971
Wared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974
Urquie . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1975
Walladay . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979
Wampum . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1980
Waid . . . . . . . . . . . Spring Durum . . . . . . . . 1980
Waverly . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981
Edwall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984
Penewawa . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1985
Spillman . . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987
Wadual . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987
Wakanz . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987
Calorwa . . . . . . . . . Spring Club . . . . . . . . . . 1994
Alpowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994
Wawawai . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994
Edward Donaldson
Hatton . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979
Batum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1985
Andrews . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987
Buchanan . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1990
Finley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000
Kim Kidwell
Scarlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999
Zak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2000
Macon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HWS . . . . . . . . . . . . 2002
Tara 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2002
Eden . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring Club . . . . . . . . . . 2003
Hollis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2003
Louise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2004
Otis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HWS . . . . . . . . . . . . 2004
Farnum . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2008
Whit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2008
Kelse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2008
JD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring Club . . . . . . . . . . 2009
Babe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2009
Diva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2010
Glee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Dayn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HWS . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Steve Jones
Edwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999
Bruehl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2001
Masami . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2004
Bauermeister . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2005
MDM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2005
Xerpha . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2008
Kim Garland Campbell
Finch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2002
Chukar . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2002
Cara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2007
ARS Amber . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
ARS Crescent . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
ARS Chrystal . . . . . . . . Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
ARS Selbu . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Kulvinder Gill
Curiosity CL+ . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Mela CL+ . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Mike Pumphrey
Alum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
Chet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HRS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
Seahawk . . . . . . . . . . . . SWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
Arron Carter
Otto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2011
Sprinter . . . . . . . . . . . . HRW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Puma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
Jasper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SWW . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
WGC REPORTS
For him, a released variety has little to do with personal
achievement or out-performing a colleague’s variety.
Calling wheat breeding a “noble discipline,” his sense
of competition comes in delivering ever better varieties
to “maintain and enhance rural livelihoods as well as to
maintain my ability to compete.”
Carter said there is some rivalry because every breeder
wants his or her cultivars accepted as among the best
and highest yielding. But in the end, he doesn’t feel as if
Mike Pumphrey
he’s competing against a person. Rather, he sees his efforts as competing against the current crop of cultivars farmers are growing.
WSU Wheat Geneticist Kulvinder Gill got into wheat breeding through the
back door, taking on responsibility for developing two-gene Clearfield varieties at the urging of the industry. He believes today’s
wheat breeders are under pressure to release varieties for
career purposes or because of heat from growers. That
winds up with many varieties being grown on very little
acreage or not at all. Using the example of ever newer
versions of the Apple iPhone, Gill said each new variety
should have some added advantage.
ing wheat, and even if they are, it’s
going to be much more difficult to
produce a variety that can take over
areas like we did in the past,” he
said.
But Allan, whose goal in breeding wheat was always “to answer
questions,” believes if any landgrant school has the opportunity to
stay in the wheat breeding game,
it’s WSU.
“I think the growers’ group and
the Washington Grain Commission
can take a lot of credit for that. The
financial support is one thing, but
so is having strong advocates to the
administration of both WSU and
USDA programs,” he said.
“It is not the number of varieties that is important,” he
said.
With the development of technologies Spillman could
only dream about, let alone the creation of multidisciplinary breeding teams, you might expect the second 100 varieties released
from Pullman’s WSU/ARS team would happen much more quickly. Campbell,
for one, believes the 200-variety milestone could be achieved in as little as 50
years, while Carter thinks it may take another 115. Kidwell hedges her bets.
Kulvinder Gill
“If the standards for release are lowered, we could release 100 more in the
next 20 years, but if we hold to the high standard of only releasing improved
material that brings value to the industry, it could take another 110 years,” she
said.
Peterson agrees. “I wasn’t worried about feeding somebody in China. I was
interested in a variety that would do a better job than farmers had at the present time.”
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Other breeders are less optimistic the landmark will ever be achieved.
Pumphrey believes WSU will likely see at least 15 more years of variety releases for the broad market.
“After that, it will depend on the fate of genetically modified wheat in the
world and other issues. So, up to 150 varieties from WSU is conceivable, but
anything beyond that is hard for me to predict,” he said, adding that regardless of whether the university remains in the breeding game, “our genetics
will live on indefinitely.”
Gill believes that once genetically engineered wheat is on the market within
the next 10 years, the university’s efforts will be limited because of private
companies’ ability to compete. Peterson, whose son Jim is research director
for Limagrain Cereal Seeds, is also pessimistic, if only given the amount of
money private companies can throw at breeding.
“I think there’s a real good chance in 20 years that WSU might not be breedWHEAT LIFE MARCH 2015 61
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SALES TAX?
WGC REPORTS
Economic analysis on inputs follows the money
By Scott A. Yates
An economic analysis of Washington’s wheat industry led by Randy
Fortenbery, who holds the Thomas B. Mick Endowed Chair in agricultural
economics at Washington State University (WSU), has found that imposing
a sales tax on farmers’ inputs gains the state
$13.3 million in revenue, but results in a $39.2
million loss in economic activity.
Fortenbery, who worked on the study with
Suzette Galinato, a research associate with
the IMPACT Center at WSU, pegged the total
economic value of wheat’s 2012 contribution
to Washington at nearly $2.3 billion. That includes the value of production, indirect output
earned from business-to-business transactions
and “induced” output defined as spending
by farmers for personal activities. In 2013, the
value of Washington production fell to $978.2
million due to lower yields and prices. With
the multipliers, the crop’s economic contribution to the state that year was
about $2 billion.
Although the study found just 3,712 individuals were directly employed on
the state’s 2,500 wheat farms, another 3,406 worked at businesses supported
by wheat farmers. An additional 4,031 off-farm jobs were attributed to personal purchases by wheat-farm employees. The total of 11,133 jobs is especially
important in rural economies where wheat farming serves as the anchor for
economic activity, the analysis reported.
The Washington Grain Commission tasked Fortenbery with the economic
analysis in cooperation with the Washington Association of Wheat Growers
(WAWG). In February, WAWG provided legislators and their aides with copies
of the study during the organization’s Olympia Days. The goal of the growers’
group is to avert the loss of agriculture’s sales tax exemption on inputs and
other potential tax increases.
In an interview, Fortenbery said the results of his study showing a greater
loss of economic activity from imposing a tax than the tax would generate applies to most small businesses.
“But I suspect if you went to Olympia and told them so, most people
wouldn’t believe it,” he said. At the same time, he continued, there wouldn’t
be infrastructure without taxes.
“This isn’t about equity at all. It doesn’t say whether farmers are making a
sacrifice as great as they should. It’s just an attempt to say if you do this, this
is what happens. Tax farmers, and they spend less money in town at the local
restaurant and on inputs,” he said.
Fortenbery and Galinato’s analysis includes a production budget
break down by precipitation zones,
something that hadn’t been calculated since 2009. Yields in the drier,
wheat-summer fallow areas may
be the lowest in the state, but given
the region’s greater acreage, 55
percent of the state’s value of wheat
in 2013—$547.6 million—originated
there.
Impact from a sales tax, however,
would be greatest in the high rainfall region with costs per acre rising
$9 an acre to $422 for winter wheat
and $10 an acre to $434 for spring
wheat. The impact of a sales tax in
the low rainfall area would be a rise
in the cost of production by $5 an
acre to $296 an acre.
Glen Squires, CEO of the WGC,
said Fortenbery’s analysis is exactly
why the commission created the
endowed chair.
“Having a resource like Randy
at WSU who can address economic
questions quickly and with authority was the commission’s goal when
it budgeted the $2 million which
created the endowment. I’m thrilled
with Randy’s willingness to work
on issues that directly affect farmers’ lives.”
Fortenbery’s full report,
“Contribution of Wheat Production
to the Washington Economy,” can
be found on the WGC website at
wawg.org/wgc. Once there, scroll
down to the farmers’ tab at the bottom and select research.
WGC REPORTS
Contribution of W
T. Ran
heat Production
WL
to the Washingto
n Economy
L EMPLOYMENT
Wheat yield, pric
4013
11,133
Table 2
e, harvested area
, and estimated to
High Rainfall Regi
Winter wheat
Spring wheat
on
Intermediate Ra
infall Region
Winter wheat
Spring wheat
Low Rainfall Regi
on*
Winter wheat
Total: Wheat prod
uction
Average yield
(bu/acre)
80.00
tal returns by rain
fall zone - 2013.
Price ($/bu)
6.87
60.00
7.34
70.00
6.87
Harvested
acres
190,215
84,369
420,625
55.00
7.34
214,703
63.01
6.87
1,265,087
2,175,000
dall Fortenbery*
*Professor and Th
and Suzette Gali
omas B. Mick En
dowed Chair, Scho
nato**
** Research Asso
ol
of Economic Scie
ciate, IMPACT Ce
nces, Washingto
nter, School of Ec
n State Universit
onomic Sciences
y
, Washington Stat
e University
Washington agric
ulture is one of th
e more diverse
agricultural sector
Table 1
s in the United St
ates. The total va
Contribution of W
of Washington ag
lu
he
e
at
ricultural produc
Production to the
tion in 2012 was
Washington Stat
billion. Agricultu
e
$9.9
re accounted for
Economy – 2012
an additional $204
million in govern
Value of Washing
ment payments (t
ton Wheat Produc
tion
hese included
payments for land
$1,162,208,988
Indirect Output (e
in the Conservatio
arned from busin
es
s
n
Reserve Program
Direct Payments
to
bu
sin
ess transactions)
,
authorized under
the 2008 Farm Bi
etc.), bringing the
Induced Output (e
$588,124,635
ll,
total value of Was
arned from spen
hington agricultu
di
in 2012 to 10.1 bi
ng
for personal activ
re
llion dollars. Fort
ity)
y different
commodities acco
TOTAL ECONOM
$546,416,657
unted for 97 perc
IC
OUTPUT
ent of the total va
with several othe
$2
,296,750,280
lu
e,
r crops contribut
ing the final 3 pe
Wheat productio
rc
en
Di
t.
rect Employmen
n ranked as the St
t (all grain farms)
ate's number 2
agricultural revenu
Indirect Employm
e generator in 20
3715
en
t (off farm jobs
12
,
2013 just behind
and number 3 in
milk. As a result
supported by grai
the economic im
n farm business
of wheat produc
pacts
tion are substant
transactions)
ia
l
for the state as a
whole, but they ar
e particularly impo
Induced Employm
3406
rtant to rural area
ent (off farm jobs
of Eastern Washi
s
ngton where farm
su
pp
or
te
d
from personal gr
ing is a crucial an
of communities an
ain farm
chor
d regional econom
employee purcha
ies. This summar
ses)
y
TOTA
Total Returns
$104,541,962
$37,156,218
$202,278,711
$86,675,797
$547,635,311
$978,288,000
WL
WGC REPORTS
Weatherman predicts mixed bag
By Scott A. Yates
Farmers planning on planting spring wheat in 2015 may like meteorologist Art
Douglas’ weather forecast for June and July, but dryer-than-normal weather conditions before then could bedevil the region’s winter wheat crop.
Douglas, professor emeritus at Creighton University, was the keynote speaker at
the Pacific Northwest Farm Forum Feb. 3. He has been returning to Spokane for decades to provide farmers in Eastern Washington with long-range predictions based
largely on an analysis of sea surface temperatures around the world. His presentation was sponsored by the Washington Grain Commission.
Perhaps the most crucial sea surface temperature anomaly is the one known as El
Niño, described as a body of warm water off the coast of South America. Its presence or absence affects weather in places as disparate as Australia and the Pacific
Northwest.
During his presentation last year, Douglas told his audience to prepare for an
El Niño, which tends to result in drier weather in the Northwest. But at this year’s
event, he reported that the El Niño was being fickle and not behaving as predicted.
...In April, a
developing storm
track should
move north and
provide some of the
season’s heaviest
precipitation. In
May, however, the
storm track will
continue northward
into Alaska which
will dry out the
Pacific Northwest
again, but wetter
weather should be
in store for June
and July.
“This year’s El Niño peaked in June and then just gave up the ghost. Since then,
it has been cooling off and never peaked in the winter like it should have,” he said.
“We’re having a very difficult time understanding what El Niño is doing.”
About 25 percent of the time, El Niño spans two years, and that’s what Douglas
believes is happening this time.
“This El Niño is stuck in the western Pacific, but it will be easy for it to come back
a second time because it still has that warm pool of water built up in the west, and
as soon as the trade winds weaken, that wave is going to come back and probably
act like it did in 2010,” he said.
For the record, spring wheat in 2010 went 52 bushels an acre, the best in a decade
at that time. But the winter wheat average in Washington came in at 69 bushels an
acre, a very respectable yield as well.
Although Douglas was not optimistic the Northwest would break out of its
drought pattern for March, in April, a developing storm track should move north
and provide some of the season’s heaviest precipitation. In May, however, the storm
track will continue northward into Alaska which will dry out the Pacific Northwest
again, but wetter weather should be in store for June and July.
Douglas is also predicting cooler-than-normal weather in July with a good warm
up in August. His analog years for this year’s summer weather include: 1958, 1978,
1983 and 1993. Meanwhile, the likelihood El Niño will rebound and again become a
player in the global weather picture means dry fall weather could delay planting.
Presenting a graphic of the sea surface temperature anomalies called the Pacific
Decadal Oscillation which has been recorded since 1900, Douglas called his audience’s attention to the 10-to-20-year cycles between cold and warm phases. For
approximately the last 18 years, we’ve been in a cold water phase, but that cycle now
appears to be broken. A return to a warm phase, last in effect between 1976 through
1997 is not generally good news for the Northwest.
“We are just as warm now as we were in the 1980s and early 1990s and just as
warm as we were in the late 1930s and early 1940s. This is good for the Southwest,
but dry for the Northwest,” he said.
A lot to swallow!
WGC REPORTS
WL
WGC intern recounts his first commission meeting
By Sterling Smith
Talk about drinking from a fire hose!
There is no better way to learn about the duties and
aims of the Washington Grain Commission than attending a grain commission meeting. For those of you
reading this who haven’t attended one, I recommend it
highly.
As part of reports to the board, Mike Miller, vice chairman of the WGC, spoke about his travels to Taiwan to
advocate for Washington wheat and correct misperceptions. Randy Fortenbery, who holds WSU’s endowed
chair in small grain economics, described his attendance
at the Latin American Buyers Conference where concerns were voiced about possible delays because of rail
and shipping issues in the U.S.
With the current price of oil, there was a feeling that
railroads might not be running so many oil trains, leaving more room on the rail for grain this coming season.
Damon Filan, the board’s new industry representative,
told the group that tariffs on rail hoppers had declined
dramatically from just a few months ago and were basically back to normal.
Keeping overseas customers well-informed was an important topic throughout the meeting. As I have learned
while earning my agricultural economics degree at WSU,
the key to a successful business is not just creating customers, but keeping them.
Another matter of contention in the industry was Low
Level Presence and tolerances for genetically engineered
wheat, which is expected to make its debut in seven to 10
years. Although I was unfamiliar with the terms, it was
explained that low level presence is the unintentional
mixing of small amounts of biotech products from other
crops into, for instance, a cargo of wheat.
Tolerance, on the other hand, is the level of genetically
engineered material, such as GMO corn, that can be
found in a non-GMO corn shipment. Both are established
by the importing country but influenced by exporters,
Sterling Smith, the Washington Grain Commission’s new intern, works on
recording articles from an upcoming issue of Wheat Life. The recordings
will be posted as podcasts for busy farmers who will be able to listen
to portions of the WGC section of Wheat Life on their smart phones
wherever they go.
and both will be big issues when GMO wheat comes to
market.
Communicating with customers, addressing their
concerns and providing them with the best products
was the overarching theme of this meeting. Although I
am not from a farming family and my understanding of
agriculture comes mostly through my studies at WSU, I
was welcomed with open arms by the commissioners.
Although it was only my first week serving as
the WGC’s inaugural intern from Washington State
University (WSU), the two-day meeting I observed was
enough to understand the pivotal role commissioners
play in the grain industry. Some businessmen say if
you’re not growing, you’re dying. Based on what I heard
at my first commission meeting, I can say firmly that the
commission is growing.
It is thrilling to be immersed in the current issues
facing wheat and barley growers, but a bit overwhelming at the same time. Although a single meeting is not
enough to establish a trend, it was plenty for me to
understand the commission’s willingness to tackle the
industry’s big issues and to advocate for the best interests
of Washington farmers.
As I continue my internship, I hope to see how the
trends and issues transform the industry. And I’m hopeful the fire hose of information I’m drinking from will
feel like it’s under less pressure as my knowledge of the
wheat industry grows.
WL
WGC REPORTS
Snow
mold
research
speeds up
Focus is on developing new sources of resistance, selecting resistant lines
By Tim Murray
WSU Plant Pathologist
You may be surprised
to learn that there is not
just one, but several organisms capable of causing diseases of wheat
and other plants buried
under snow.
The organisms that
cause snow mold diseases (mostly fungi) are
adapted to life on plants
in the wet and cold
conditions between the soil and snow where temperatures hover around 32 degrees. In the Pacific Northwest
(PNW), four different organisms are adapted to life
under the snow.
Speckled or gray snow mold is caused by Typhula
idahoensis and T. ishikariensis (Figure 1); pink snow mold,
caused by Microdochium nivale (Figure 2); snow scald,
caused by Sclerotinia borealis; and snow rot, caused by
Pythium iwayami and P. okanoganense. Of these, speckled
snow mold is the most important year in and year out,
but pink snow mold is also a problem some years. Snow
scald and snow rot are uncommon here.
Which snow mold is a problem in a particular year
depends on weather conditions. All snow molds require
persistent snow cover to begin the disease process.
Speckled snow mold and pink snow mold are most damaging when snow cover persists for 100 days or more.
66 Symptoms of snow mold diseases on winter wheat as the snow is receding. At
this stage, symptoms include the cobweb-like material covering the plants. This
material dries up within a couple days leaving discolored leaves flattened to the
soil.
However, the two develop best when the soil is unfrozen
and remains unfrozen until the snow melts. The diseases
do not develop to damaging levels if the soil is frozen
when snow falls and remains frozen under the snow.
Snow molds emerged as a problem in the PNW in the
late 1940s. Various approaches have been used in the past
to solve the problem including snow removal (both physically and by applying blackeners to hasten snow melt),
seeding date changes, crop rotation and foliar fungicides.
Growing resistant cultivars has been the most successful and cost-effective method. Fortunately, resistance to
speckled and pink snow molds are correlated, so having
either one in the plot provides useful information.
Research on resistance to Northwest snow molds
began in about 1960 when Rod Sprague and Bill
Bruehl planted 5,000 lines from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) World Cereal Collection in a field
plot near Mansfield, Wash. Several sources of snow mold
resistance were identified in these early studies and used
to develop the resistant varieties Sprague, John, Andrews
and Eltan. Additional snow mold resistant varieties have
been released since, but all are based on the resistance
genes found in these early varieties.
Screening for snow mold resistance has relied on field
testing. The occurrence of snow mold severe enough to
be useful in breeding and genetic studies, however, has
always been unpredictable. Weather patterns over the
past 10 to 15 years have not improved the situation.
The current snow mold project, which began in 2013, is
a collaboration of myself with Arron Carter, Washington
State University wheat breeder; Dan Skinner, USDA-
WGC REPORTS
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist;
and Juliet Marshall, University of Idaho plant pathologist. The focus is on developing new sources of resistance
and improved methods of selecting resistant lines.
In particular, we’re looking at wheat cross populations
of Münstertaler (an Austrian variety) x Xerpha, Finch x
Eltan and IDO444 x Rio Blanco to identify snow mold resistance genes and associated molecular markers. We’re
also developing three doubled-haploid populations to
bring in new resistance genes and associated markers.
Our goal is to develop varieties with more effective
resistance than currently available. To do this, we began
working with sources of resistance used elsewhere in the
world where snow molds are a problem. In particular,
we are working with Münstertaler and PI 173438, a plant
Figure 1: Symptoms of speckled snow mold about 4 weeks after
snow melt. (Top) Discolored leaves in rows flattened to the soil.
(Bottom) Close-up showing the dark-colored survival structures
(sclerotia) of the snow mold fungus.
introduction line. Both are used widely in wheat breeding programs in Hokkaido, Japan, where snow mold is a
much more severe problem. (Figure 3).
We identified three genes for snow mold resistance and molecular markers associated with them in
Münstertaler in a previous project. To determine whether these markers could be used to accelerate transfer of
the genes from Münstertaler into the locally adapted
susceptible winter wheat Xerpha, two Münstertaler x
Xerpha populations were developed in the greenhouse,
one of which was not selected and the other selected
using the molecular markers (marker-assisted selection).
Lines of both populations were sown in field plots near
Waterville and Memuro, Japan, (Figure 4) in 2011/12 and
2012/13 to determine their snow mold resistance and
whether one method was better than the other for transferring resistance. Unfortunately, disease was so severe
in Japan that only a few plants in either population survived (Figure 5). Snow mold in Waterville, however, was
enough to allow us to rate resistance in our populations,
but the original question remains unanswered.
In the fall of 2012, we expanded field testing to additional sites in Washington and Idaho to increase the
likelihood of a suitable test. We also enlisted the aid of
To improve selection, we’re working to adapt growth
chamber methods of screening for resistance to the large
numbers of plants required for breeding and genetic
studies. We’ve also begun studying carbohydrate metabolism associated with resistance, specifically fructans
(fructose polymers) that accumulate in wheat plants
during cold hardening and under snow. Advances in
technology, especially DNA sequencing, have helped
change our approach from years past.
WL
Figure 2: Symptoms of pink snow mold about 4 weeks after
snow melt. (Top) Discolored leaves of diseased plants are initially
pink-colored then turn a brownish color. (Bottom) Close-up
showing pink color and lack of dark-colored sclerotia.
WL
WGC REPORTS
Marshall, based in Idaho Falls. She included our materials in a field trial planted
on the Tetonia Research and Extension
Center, which gets its name from the
nearby Teton Mountains and has a history
of snow mold problems.
Figure 3: Snow mold resistant Münstertaler (left plot) compared with susceptible
Ibis (right plot) in a field plot near Memuro, Japan, following severe snow mold.
Figure 4: Münstertaler x Xerpha populations in a field plot in Memuro, Japan, for
snow mold testing in October 2012.
Figure 5: Münstertaler x Xerpha populations in a field plot near Memuro, Japan,
following severe snow mold in May 2013. Snow mold was very severe with relatively
few surviving plants.
No disease developed in 2013, but the
trial was planted again in the fall. Snow
mold pressure was not severe, but enough
developed in 2014 to rate several commercial varieties (Table 1) and our populations. We expanded our field testing in
the fall of 2014 to include three plots in
northern Douglas County and the plot
in Tetonia. We’re currently looking for
another location in Idaho to increase our
chances of successful field tests.
Resistance to snow mold diseases is
different than most diseases in that it
requires the plant to have exposure to
low temperatures to become active, a
process referred to as cold hardening. We
identified cold hardening conditions that
allow wheat to be screened for snow mold
resistance in growth chambers, but those
methods need to be scaled up to allow
testing of large populations. Results on
this objective have been disappointing in
the sense that we haven’t seen clear differences among our resistant and susceptible
controls because we’re killing everything.
Although growth chamber testing
will not replace field testing, it will allow
us to make progress on genetic studies
throughout the year and eliminate very
susceptible lines before taking them to
the field. Consequently, work continues to
find the right combination of factors for a
successful test.
Carbohydrate metabolism, and fructans
in particular, have long been associated
with snow mold resistance. Fructans,
which are metabolized for energy while
plants are surviving the winter under
snow, have been associated with resistance to winter stresses including snow
molds. Past studies have shown that fructans accumulate to higher concentrations
and remain higher in snow mold resistant
varieties
New lab techniques, faster and easier
WGC REPORTS
than older methods, now allow us to screen breeding
populations efficiently. Dan Skinner has been studying
carbohydrate metabolism in relation to cold hardening
and is collaborating on the fructan project. Erika Kruse,
a graduate student, is working on this objective. Kruse
has planted several varieties in field plots this fall and
is sampling at regular intervals to analyze plants for
fructan composition. If fructans are found to be tightly
linked with snow mold resistance, we may be able to use
them to indirectly select for resistance to snow mold.
polymorphism (SNP) markers, which are more breederfriendly than the SSR markers we used previously.
They’re also more abundant, meaning the chance of
finding useful markers is better. The Finch x Eltan population used in this project has already been sequenced.
Kruse will be sequencing the doubled-haploid populations of PI173438 later this year.
Regardless of the marker technology used, we still
need good data on the resistance reactions of the lines
being studied. That’s why we’ve expanded field testing to
four locations this year and are looking for another location for next year. Research will also continue on growth
chamber screening methods with the overall goal of
accelerating development of new snow mold resistant
varieties and bringing them online as soon as possible.
Variety
Class
Spring Rating
AP503 CL2
HW
8.5
Madsen/Eltan Bearpaw
HW
8.0
Manning
Bobtail SWW
7.5
Mary Brundage
SWW
8.0
Moreland
HW10.0
Bruneau
SWW9.5
Norwest 553
HW
Curlew
HW9.5
Ottoa
Deloris
HW5.0
Promontory
Eltana
SWW7.0
Variety
Class
Spring Rating
SWW
8.5
HW
8.5
SWW
8.5
6.0
SWW9.0
HW9.5
Rosalyn SWW
8.5
Garland
HW7.0
Skiles
SWW5.0
Golden Spike (W)
HW
Stephens
SWW7.0
Greenville
HW7.5
SY Ovation
SWW
8.0
Judee
HW
7.5
SY 107
SWW
7.0
Juniper
HW
8.5
SY Clearstone CL2
HW
9.5
Juniper/Deloris
HW
9.0
UI Silver (W)
HW
9.0
Juniper/Promontory
HW
9.0
UI SRG
HW
9.0
SWW
9.5
UICF Brundage
SWW
7.0
Keldin
HW
8.0
UICF Grace
HW
8.0
Ladd SWW
8.0
Utah 100
HW
10.0
LCS Artdeco
SWW
6.0
WB-Arrowhead
HW
8.0
LCS Azimut HW
9.5
WB-Arrowhead / Keldin
HW
7.0
LCS Biancor
SWW
8.0
WB-Junction
SWW
7.5
LCS Colonia
HW
9.5
Weston
HW7.5
LCS Evina
HW
8.0
Whetstone
HW5.0
Lucin-CL
HW9.0
Yellowstone
HW
Kaseberg Madsen
8.0
In order to speed up the identification of molecular
markers for snow mold resistance genes, we’re using a technique known as genotyping by sequencing.
Essentially, we develop a population of plants and
sequence everything to identify single-nucleotide-
WL
8.0
SWW7.0
Table 1: Ratings of winter wheat varieties following snow mold at the Tetonia Research and Extension Center, Tetonia, Idaho (J. Marshall). The plot
was sown on Sept. 17, 2013, using a head-row planter in plots 3 feet long. Each entry was replicated two times. Survival ratings reflect percentage of
the plot surviving and plant vigor and range from 0 to 10, where 0 means no survival and 10 means 100 percent survival with vigorous plants.
WHEAT WATCH
Headwinds blocking market gains
By Mike Krueger
Markets all weakened in the beginning months of 2015 as “headwinds”
for commodity markets appear difficult
to overcome, including:
• Crude oil continued its collapse,
dropping below $43 a barrel. That was
the lowest level since back in 2009.
• The dollar soared to its highest level against most
major currencies in more than a decade. The Russian
ruble and the Australian and Canadian dollars collapsed with the price of crude oil. A strong American
dollar, meanwhile, hurt U.S. exports, especially
exports of agricultural commodities, particularly
wheat exports.
• The collapse in energy markets sparked worries the
global economy was softening and that demand for
everything would suffer.
• Financial markets took a beating after the first of the
year, but have since recovered.
• The Russian/Ukraine conflict showed no signs of
a resolution until a recent cease fire agreement was
reached.
• Weather in Brazil and Argentina has been mostly
ideal, and they appear to be on track for record
soybean production. That will also mean that world
soybean-ending supplies will reach a record high
level.
In addition to these headwinds, news on commodity
fundamentals is tough to find. Northern hemisphere
winter wheat crops are still dormant, although there are
some concerns about winter wheat conditions in the U.S.
and the Black Sea regions. It is too early, however, for that
anxiety to be a market factor. The winter wheat crops
will have to break dormancy before anyone can assess
potential problems.
The February U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
reports did not make any significant revisions to ending
supply estimates as expected. The only notable exception was U.S. corn ending supply dropping by 50 million
bushels. That was more than expected.
The next significant USDA report will be the March 31
quarterly stocks and planting intentions. The planting
intentions numbers will be the more important report for
obvious reasons. The big question will be what happens
to the mix of corn and soybean acres? Most analysts are
looking for a two to three million acre reduction in corn
acres and a corresponding increase in soybean acres.
The entire acreage question has gotten more complex for
many reasons:
• Nearly every analyst expects cotton acres to drop
by at least 10 percent because of low prices. A 10
percent drop in cotton would equal the freeing up of
1 million to 1.5 million acres, which can potentially
go into other crops. Not all of those acres will go to
corn. In fact, it is likely that less than half of those
acres will go to corn with the rest going to soybeans,
alfalfa or nothing at all.
• It is almost impossible to find a crop that shows a
positive return per acre in 2015 based on current
prices. That could mean fewer acres in total will be
planted to anything as farmers (or their lenders) opt
to idle acres rather than lose money. Since corn is the
most expensive crop to plant, it stands to lose more
acres than wheat, soybeans, etc.
• The USDA released their 10-year baseline projections
on Feb. 10. Their total planted acreage estimate for
the eight major crops shows a 3.8 million acre reduction from 2014. That is a big number and reflects
USDA’s belief that low prices and negative returns
per acre will pull land out of production.
Conversations with seed companies and producers
indicate that corn acres will decline and soybean acres
will increase. Those same conversations, however, also
indicate that 25 percent to 30 percent of the 2015 acres
are still “open.” That means farmers haven’t made a final
decision on what they will plant on those acres. That is a
big number at this point in time.
It also appears that farmers who intend to plant corn
are backing off of the “stacked” hybrids and moving to
conventional varieties to save money. In fact, we believe
that farmers will be doing whatever they can to reduce
input costs in 2015 because of the negative returns per
WHEAT WATCH
Chart 1
WL
a number of reasons, including:
•N
orthern plains farmers tell
us they will plant more canola, sunflowers and soybeans
instead of corn.
•S
pring wheat producers have
had great yields, but low
protein content has resulted
in steep discounts. That will
discourage some from planting more spring wheat.
Chart 2
Chart 2 is a history of U.S.
winter wheat acres. This chart
does reflect the drop in winter
wheat acres that was reported in
the January USDA winter wheat
planting intentions estimate.
Much of this drop was in the
soft red winter wheat states. The
late corn and soybean harvests
prevented some soft red winter
wheat from being planted.
It is too early to make an accurate prediction of what 2015
U.S. wheat production might be. It
will be difficult to exceed the 2014
production with fewer acres unless winter wheat abandonment is
less and yields are better than last
year.
acre forecasts. Whether or not that will affect yields remains to be seen.
An important question for the wheat market will be how many acres of spring
wheat will be planted in 2015? Winter wheat acres have already been reported as
two million acres less than expected. The consensus is that spring wheat will increase in North Dakota as farmers in the central and northern parts of the state
shift out of corn. Spring wheat acres might not increase as much as expected for
Chart 1 shows a history of
“other” spring wheat acres, most
of which are hard red spring
wheat. Note that 2014 marked the
end of a slow but steady decline
in acres.
Mike Krueger is president and
founder of The Money Farm, a grain
advisory service located in Fargo,
N.D. A licensed commodity broker,
Krueger is a past director of the
Minneapolis Grain Exchange and a
senior analyst for World Perspectives,
a Washington, D.C., agricultural consulting group.
WL
FEATURE
Phyllis Luiten
Woven
in wheat
By Heidi Scott
Perhaps one of the oddest marriage proposals ever invented can be found in a story that
the Brothers Grimm published in 1812. It tells the tale of a king who ordered a miller’s daughter to spin straw into gold. If she succeeded, he would marry her. If she did not, she would
be killed. The fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin, has been told through the centuries, but few have
stopped to wonder why it includes this strange test. Why not wool? Or even flax? Who in the
world would ever think of spinning straw?
Sue Morse
Figure crafted
by Sue Morse
As long as there have been wheat farmers, there has
been straw. And as long as there has been straw, there
have been creative people who see potential. As far back
as the 4th century, wheat weaving impressions were
pressed into ancient Egyptian pottery. Early mythologies taught that to ensure a good harvest, the spirit of the
wheat must be captured in the last stalks of the harvest.
Those last stalks were woven together and displayed
through the winter. When spring came, these weavings would be the first thing buried to ensure
a bountiful harvest. By the late 1800s, wheat
weavings became harvest tokens and
were commonly hung to bring luck.
It is easy to see why straw was
a convenient symbol to include in
the story. If woven straw brought luck,
what might gold straw bring? But
still, why was the miller’s daughter asked to spin it?
The small town of Wohlen,
Switzerland, holds the answer. In the 18th
century, the region around Wohlen was ideal for grain
growers because of its fertile soils. Women wove straw
hats for their farmer husbands, along with straw baskets
and other storage containers. A thriving cottage industry soon sprung up, inspiring magnificent straw braids
and ornaments based on their work. Wheat straw was
valued for its shine, while other grains, such as rye, oats,
barley or rice, were also sometimes used for strength. The
region quickly became a center of high fashion in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. Thousands of people were
FEATURE
WL
employed making plaited straw hats and woven straw objects. It wasn’t
long before the hat trade made its way to the fashion houses all over
Europe and became an international sensation.
Wohlen is also the home of the Strohmuseum (Straw Museum). In
1840, the thread wheel was invented, allowing straw artists to spin
long threads out of hand-twisted straw splints.
The thread wheel opened up artists’ creativity to explore art forms
that had never been imagined before. Elaborate straw ornaments
and items of clothing can still be viewed in museums across
Europe. The techniques developed during this era are called
Swiss straw work. The industry in this region has nearly disappeared, but the art form has been well preserved. British crafters took great interest in wheat
weaving and made a point to keep it alive.
The word “corn” is used in Great Britain
to refer to wheat and other grains. Any
object made of straw then is referred to as a
Figure crafted
“corn dolly,” no matter what shape it is. In the 1960s,
by Sue Morse
there was a resurgence in preserving and perpetuating the art of straw work. Each county in England
has it’s own official version of the corn dolly, with a story explaining its
meaning. Windsor Castle contains early evidence of British interest in
straw weaving. Straw-embroidered doll clothing from the 1920s is
on display with the famous doll house of Queen Mary, wife of
King George V, and from Queen Elizabeth’s daughters, Elizabeth
(now Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret, in the 1930s. Long before
that, prisoners of war in England during the
Napoleonic wars at the turn of the 18th Century
created breathtaking strawwork boxes and
other wheat-straw
Pin crafted by Phyllis Luiten
artifacts. Many of
these items have
held up perfectly for more than
200 years due to the resiliency of wheat straw.
Some people claim this is a dying art once
again. As harvesting became mechanized
beginning in the 1920s, the craft started to
disappear. Here in the U.S., there is a group of
individuals who are dedicated to preserving it.
Many of them stumbled on wheat weaving independently, through newspaper articles or craft
magazines. Closer to home, Sue Morse, from
Edwall, saw it in a craft book and took up the art
as a way to pass the time when she had young children.
She discovered a hidden talent and sold her work, making enough profit to help restore their 1966 Buick. Diana Kenner,
who currently lives in Spokane, saw it in a newspaper article
and decided to try it with the wheat they grew on their farm in the
Okanogan highlands. They have both been weaving ever since.
Figure owned
by Phyllis Luiten
WL
FEATURE
Wheat weavers are a humble group and are sometimes hesitant to showcase their work, but they are often eager to share and teach. A majority
of their creations tend to be simply given away. Photographs are rarely
taken. Here in our region, which has been so influenced by wheat
growers, there is no record of wheat weaving in any of our major museums, including the Washington State History Museum, the Museum
of History and Industry, the Burke Museum and the Washington State
Arts Commission. There are some pieces in the Smithsonian, however,
including a basket from the late Lotti Alcorn of Spokane.
These humble artists create marvelous pieces simply for the joy
of the work and then usually put them away in a box or give them
to a loved one. They make elaborate decorations for weddings, funerals and holidays, often to have them disappear after the event. Phyllis
Luiten, from Davenport, spent countless hours with her husband
weaving a scale model of a Viking ship after a friend passed away.
His cremated remains were placed on the ship, which
was lit on fire and floated down Hawk Creek in honor
Figure crafted
of his Viking heritage. A cross she made was a gift to Billy
by Sue Morse
Graham on his Spokane Crusade. As a part of the National
Association of Wheat Weavers (NAWW), she wove a straw
angel to be hung on the White House Christmas tree. When First Lady
Hillary Clinton asked NAWW to make these ornaments as part of the
theme, “Angels and the Year of the American Craft” in 1993, Luiten was
sent a thank you note from the White House, stating they had received
enough angels to fill two trees from generous artists all around the
country.
Many weavers recognize that without preservation, wheat
weaving will fade from memory completely. Jan Gowin is one
of those people committed
to teaching others and has
been weaving since the mid1970s. Her daughter, Mary B.
Thrower, district court magFigure crafted
istrate judge in Minneapolis,
by Phyllis Luiten
Kan., currently serves on the
NAWW Board of Directors,
but admits that as a teenager, she
“thought it was the silliest thing ever.” As time passed,
Thrower watched her mother’s hobby turn into a serious business. Gowin’s work was highly successful
and blossomed into a way to pay for her daughter’s college. Gowin served as the first treasurer
for NAWW, when it was organized in 1986. She
has attended every NAWW annual convention
since the first in 1987, bringing her daughters
and granddaughters when they can join her.
These conventions move to new locations
around the country each year. Artists from
all over the world come and bring their work.
They take classes, buy and sell wheat and
build friendships. One year, a woman even
Figure owned
by Phyllis Luiten
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WL
FEATURE
brought a life-sized, mounted deer head
entirely woven from wheat.
Dianne Gardner, former treasurer
for NAWW, frequently teaches classes
at conventions and other events. Many
weavers’ favorite varieties of wheat are
rare, and so heirloom wheat is available for
purchase at annual conventions. Alternately,
like many weavers, Gardner grows much of
her own on her farm in Kansas. Some of her
favorites are Turkey Red, Larned, Goodheart
and Arapaho. Weavers like to find varieties
that have a long first joint, which are less appealing to commercial growers because they are
more likely to lodge and often take longer to ripen.
One weaving favorite is Blackbeard, which has a dark
color after harvest and comes from wheat propagated
from seeds found in Egyptian tombs.
Wheat straw can even be harvested green or
dyed different colors for variety. Weavers like to harvest the straw before the wheat is wholly ripe to avoid
shattering.
Box crafted
by Diana Kenner
Besides Swiss straw work, there are four main techniques wheat weavers
use: plaiting (pronounced with a short a), marquetry, straw embroidery and
tied straw work. Plaiting is similar to braiding, where the straw is
bent around other stalks to form a shape. Straw hats and traditional corn dollies are plaited. When a straw gets too
short, the smaller end of another stalk is simply
inserted and the braiding can continue indefinitely. Marquetry includes no weaving at all.
The straw is split, ironed and glued flat to make
designs. Straw embroidery takes softened straw
and weaves it with other fabrics. This has been
used on clothing and other household textiles. The
practice of tied straw work is most common in Eastern Europe, where
whole straws are tied together with string to form shapes.
Looking at the intricate creations these techniques produce, it is
somewhat surprising to see how simple a weaver’s setup usually is.
“All you need is water, straw, scissors, thread and a willingness to learn,”
Gardner said.
Figure crafted
by Phyllis Luiten
A beginning weaver will use nothing more than small scissors and upholstery
or carpet thread for plaiting and tied work. A smoother and a brayer, or iron, are
used in marquetry. Swiss work requires a few more tools, often including straw
splitters, dog combs, special needles and a straw spinning wheel. The hardest tool to find these days is a large wallpaper tray to soak the wheat in before
working with it.
“Trays manufactured these days are too flimsy,” Luiten explained.
Many weavers use a tray they bought decades ago, or one that was a gift
from a previous weaver. The first lesson in weaving is the proper way to
tie a knot, usually a clove hitch, and the second lesson is how to splice a
smaller straw into a larger straw.
Experienced weavers cite frustration
as the number one reason students
give up. In the beginning, the straw
will often break or split, requiring
a weaver to remove a portion of the
work and start again. It requires
dexterity and strength in the hands.
Weavers with arthritis find it difficult to work for long periods, and
often, pieces dry out before they
are finished, requiring the artist to
soak them again and again. This
means that it can take many hours
to complete an object. But for those
who have the time, the strength and
the knowledge, straw weaving can
be very satisfying.
Bibliography
THE NEXT BIG THING!
PWM
NOZZLE
TECHNOLOGY
“Wheat Weaving & Straw Art:
Tips, Tools, and Techniques for
Learning the Craft” Beiler, Linda
D., Stackpole, 2009.
“Decorative Straw Craft: Swiss
Straw Work Embroidery and
Marquetry” Fitch, Barbara,
Search, 1998.
“Wheat Weaving” McNeil, Lois,
and Doxie Keller, McNeil and
Keller, 1977.
“Wheat Weaving Made Easy”
Schultz, Carolyn, and Adelia
Stucky, Mennonite, 1977
nawwstraw.org
illinoiswheatweavers.org/
started.html
strawcraftsmen.co.uk/links.php
thestrawshop.com
2.7 to 20 MPH Application Speed
5 to 25 GPA Application RATE
ONE NOZZLE
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strohmuseum.ch/
bellocchio.com
prehistrans.com
eyeonkansas.org/ncentral/
jewell/0501wheat.html
http://spx.stparchive.com/
Archive/SPX/SPX07142011p12.
php
youtube.com/
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THE
BOTTOM LINE
Getting the most out of your crop insurance
with up-to-date information and assistance as you navigate the ever-changing insurance environment.
By Carl Sohn
Northwest Farm Credit Services
In today’s volatile and fast-moving commodity markets,
risk management is a critical topic among all ag producers.
While risk management strategies vary from farm to farm,
crop insurance is a central component of the risk management plan for many wheat producers. Just like any tool,
managers can misapply crop insurance with disastrous
results. Learn how to get the most out of crop insurance
and your agent.
A comprehensive approach
A comprehensive risk management plan addresses
production, marketing, financial, legal and human resources risks. Crop insurance can be a key part of your
risk management plan, but it does not address all risk. As
you develop a comprehensive plan, make sure you match
the investment of time and dollars in each area to the risks
present in your business.
Crop insurance can directly reduce production, marketing and financial risks. To determine the “right” level
of crop insurance, assess the key risks in your business
and take into account that as operating costs continue to
increase, margins tighten and the investment required
for each year’s crop increases. Even growers who follow
the best farming practices can still fall victim to external
conditions such as extreme weather. Crop insurance is the
only input cost that can protect the investments you make
throughout the growing season.
Getting the most from your
agent
Do you consider your crop insurance
agent to be an expert and part of your
trusted advisory team? If not, they
should be. Few things in farming are
as certain as change. Crop insurance is
no different. As crop insurance reporting requirements and underwriting
rules become increasingly complex, it
is imperative to have an open dialogue
with your agent. The 2014 Farm Bill
places additional responsibility on
growers to manage individual risks.
Your licensed agent focuses on crop
insurance, and they can provide you
Crop insurance agents have deep knowledge of products and services, and to get the best information and
insight, ask direct questions. Also be open to sharing more
than just crop and production information. The more your
agent knows, the more they can tailor their responses to
your specific circumstances.
Tip: Most producers don’t realize some agents can also
provide detailed and customized maps for management
or crop planning. If custom maps would benefit your
operation, ask your agent how they can help.
What’s available
The crop insurance program has improved significantly over the past several farm bills, and the intent of
those changes is to increase participation and reduce the
need for disaster payments. These improvements require
knowledge and proactive management by producers. Stay
up on the latest changes by attending courses or grower
meetings offered by your crop insurance agency. Below is
a high-level summary of currently available crop insurance products relevant to wheat producers:
Multi-Peril Crop Insurance allows producers to insure
50 to 85 percent of historical yields. Generally, losses from
unavoidable natural events that affect yields or plantings
are covered. Crop insurance can enhance access to capital
by serving as loan collateral, and the federal government
subsidizes a portion of policy premiums. It is important to remember that
prices used in these insurance policies
Sponsored by the
are not prices you might get at a local
elevator.
Agricultural Marketing
& Management
Organization.
For more information and
a schedule of classes visit
www.lcammo.org.
Yield Protection protects against
production losses. Coverage is expressed as a production guarantee
(approved yield multiplied by your
selected coverage level). If yield falls
below the production guarantee due
to an insurable cause of loss, a claim is
paid. While these policies are generally
less expensive than revenue protection products, they offer no price
protection.
Revenue Protection insures against
losses caused by price decline, low
THE BOTTOM LINE
yields or a combination of both. The higher of the projected price or harvest price is used to calculate a guaranteed
dollar value per acre. A significant decline in price could
result in a payment even when production is strong. While
more expensive than a yield protection policy, revenue
protection allows growers to market more aggressively before harvest in order to maximize profits. With yield and
price protection, revenue protection generally mitigates
the most risk at a higher price.
Revenue Protection with the Harvest Price Exclusion
excludes the harvest price when calculating the revenue
guarantee. While cheaper than revenue protection, this
product protects only against downward price shifts.
When the harvest price comes in higher than the projected
price, the revenue guarantee is not recalculated. Under
these conditions an operation could produce less than the
production guarantee and not have a payable claim.
WL
products available. While volatility in ag means increased
risk, it also means that those who manage risk effectively
will have unprecedented opportunities and likely be more
successful than ever.
Carl Sohn is Northwest Farm Credit Services’ Business
Management Center coordinator and a Family Business facilitator. Northwest Farm Credit Services’ Business Management
Center produces 27 management programs annually and provides facilitation and planning services. For more information
visit their website at northwestfcs.com.
Knowledge • Experience • Dedication
GO WITH THE EXPERTS!
Named Peril Insurance products protect against losses
from winterkill/snowmold, hail, fire, wind shatter, transit
and other specific risks. Farmers generally purchase these
products in conjunction with multi-peril crop insurance to
supplement coverage or offset a deductible. A cash value is
assigned to the crop on a per-acre basis with a wide variety of deductible options to fit coverage and cost needs.
Make a plan
While crop insurance is a powerful tool, it does not
mitigate every risk in your business. For example, how
would you reduce the risk of losing your hired man right
before harvest? To build a comprehensive plan, make a list
of the production, marketing, financial, legal and human
resources risks facing your business. Identify your options
for managing risk in the most critical areas, assessing cost
and appropriate levels of protection for each. Generally,
there is a cost to reducing risk in any area.
Consider your risks and your financial position, develop
a comprehensive plan that balances return (cost) and risk
mitigation. As you consider crop insurance, leverage your
agent’s knowledge and make sure you’re educated on the
(Left to right) Blaine Bickelhaupt, Miriam Grant and Mark Grant
NOT Your Average Real Estate Team!
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509-520-5280
509-520-5220
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than 20 years working in ag real estate, providing an
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giving him an excellent understanding of ag finance
and farm programs.
509-382-2020
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QUOTEWORTHY
“Being from the state
of Washington, this is
a huge issue for us. You
know, if we can produce
the best products and
can’t get them to our
markets, what good is
that?”
—Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) to
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack on the West
Coast labor dispute at a House Ag
Committee hearing. (farmpolicy.com)
“Nearly every year is going to be dry toward the
end of the 21st century compared to what we
think of as normal conditions now. We’re going
to have to think about a much drier future in
western North America.”
—Benjamin Cook, a NASA atmospheric scientist and lead author on
a study looking at the possibility of megadroughts, especially in the
Southwest and Midwest. (seattletimes.com)
“Crop insurance is the cornerstone of the farm
safety net. You have my word to continue to
protect, preserve and improve the number
one risk management tool in every farmer’s
toolbox.”
—Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, in a videotaped message at the
annual meeting of the American Association of Crop Insurers and the
National Crop Insurance Services. (farmpolicy.com)
“…But I don’t think the idea of separating the
two is going to be particularly effective. I think,
frankly, it will make it much more difficult in
the future for farm bills to be passed if, in fact,
there is a separation.”
—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the possibility of Congress
splitting nutrition programs off of the farm bill. (politico.com)
“The Farm Bill is working as it
was intended to work, meeting
our objectives with substantially
fewer resources…From our
perspective, we believe that
the Committee on Agriculture
has done its duty for now with
respect to deficit reduction and
that areas constituting the other
98 percent of the Federal budget
ought to be looked to first for any
additional savings being sought
this Congress.”
—From a House Committee on Agriculture letter to
the House Budget Committee in regards to future
budget savings
“We’re going
to have to
create an
urban-rural
alliance
that helps
us pass the
next farm
bill that’s
not based
or held
together by the SNAP program.
We’ve got to do a better job of
convincing urban America why
a strong production agriculture
and a vibrant rural America is
important to them.”
—House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike
Conaway (R-Texas) to the National Association of
State Departments of Agriculture on what would
need to happen if the food stamp program were no
longer part of the farm bill. (agri-pulse.com)
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“Your Agricultural Supply Headquarters”
425 Walla Walla Hwy. Colfax , Wash.
(509) 397-4371 (800) 831-0896
Service: Greg Mayer Parts: Casey Jones
Terry Largent • 509-336-1344
Dan Helbling • 509-336-1346
Bob Kerns • 509-336-1342
TWO LOCATIONS TO BETTER SERVE YOU!
304 N. 9th Avenue Walla Walla, Wash.
(509) 525-6620
(800) 525-6620
Nick Lyons • 509-956-3110
Ray Steele • 509-956-3120
Service Contact: Bruce W. Johnson
Your
wheat
life...
2014 wheat harvest five miles
northeast of Waterville.
Photo by Bobby Perez
Winter settles in on Wallace Ranch located southwest of Rosalia.
Photo by Roy Dube
October fields overlooking St. John.
Photo by Amy Swannack
At a Davenport Vintage Harvest with a Cat 60 and Harris combine. D.E. Swinger is catskinner, while Curtis Gulke
and Tim Hoskins are machine operators.
Photo Howard Reimer
Send us photos
of your wheat life!
Email pictures to [email protected].
Please include location of picture, names
of all people appearing in the picture and
ages of all children.
Marge Kloster (middle) with son Gary (top right), grandson
Mark, and great-grandchildren Brayden, 11, and Keegan,
6, at the Kloster family farm in Davenport.
Photo by Amiee Kloster
Sadie Stoddard, 4, and Aunt Tricia Donaldson
washing windows on a 2388 combine at the
Stoddard farm north of Waterville.
Photo by David Stoddard
HAPPENINGS
All dates and times are subject to change.
Please verify event before heading out.
March 2015
1 Sausage Feed. All you can eat from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Menu includes homemade sausage, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, green beans, roll, applesauce, pie
and beverage. Beer garden. Uniontown
Community Center, Uniontown, Wash.
uniontown.us/activities_events.html
6-8 Spring Arts and Crafts Show.
Features 300 professional artists and
crafters from across the U.S. Spokane
Fair and Expo Center, Spokane, Wash.
custershows.com
10 WAWG Board Meeting. Meeting
starts at 10 a.m. at Washington Wheat
Foundation Building, Ritzville, Wash.
(509) 659-0610, wawg.org
Kinsey Agricultural Services. Learn
about required soil nutrient levels and
fertilizer needs for high yielding, top
quality wheat, barley and other small
grains. Program runs from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. both days at the Marcus Whitman
Hotel in Walla Walla, Wash. Admission
is free, and lunch is included. Please
RSVP by March 10 to the Washington
Association of Wheat Growers at (509)
659-0610.
28-29 Plowing Bee. Olmstead Place
State Park between Ellensburg and
Kittitas. parks.wa.gov/556/Olmstead-Place
April 2015
4-5 Spring Farming Days. Draft
11-12 Washington Grain
Commission Meeting. Spokane, Wash.
horse and antique tractor plowing.
Overnight camping available. Eastern
Washington Agricultural Museum
in Pomeroy, Wash. co.garfield.wa.us/
eastern_washington_agricultural_museum
(509) 456-2481
10-12 Columbia River Cowboy
23-24 Wheat College 2015.
Benton County Fairgrounds.
columbiarivercowboygathering.com
Presented by Neal Kinsey, owner of
Gathering and Music Festival.
16-19 Washington State Spring
Fair. Baby animal exhibits, food,
entertainment, demolition derby and
monster truck show. Washington State
Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Wash.
thefair.com/spring-fair
18 Wenatchee Marathon. Full and
half marathons plus 10k category.
teddriven.com/wenatchee-marathon
18-19 Palouse Empire Plowing
Bee. Teams of draft horses complete in
plowing contests. Fairgrounds in Colfax,
Wash. visitcolfax.com
23-May 3 Washington State
Apple Blossom Festival. Parade,
carnival, golf tournament, apple pie and
dessert bake-off, live entertainment, auction. Wenatchee, Wash. appleblossom.org
Email listings to [email protected].
Include date, time and location of
event, plus contact info and a short
description.
Washington
Wheat
Foundation
Annex
Rental Includes:
Seats 100 • Full service kitchen • Wi-Fi
Free coffee and tea • Pull out wall divider
2 large screens • Free parking
18 x 22 lobby to gather or serve buffet
Separate board meeting room (seats 12)
$50 (0-4 hours) or $100 (4+ hours)
Contact Chauna Carlson
at the Washington Wheat Foundation rental line
(509) 659-1987
WHEAT GROWERS:
SPRING SEED FOR SALE
We Can Custom Clean
And Treat Your Seed
“A story of
agriculture will
be told. It would
be better if it
were told by
you.”
— Jerry McReynolds,
past president of the National
Association of Wheat Growers
In the tillage business,
it really comes down to
what you’re made of.
Few things in farming take the beating that your tillage takes. Where this becomes a problem is when that
beating shows up in the fields–even if you can’t easily see it on the tool. When your disc harrow fails to
perform the way it’s supposed to, you’ll see it in the field, in the grain cart and at the elevator.
We’ve been making quality tillage tools a long time and it’s taught us to build them tough and make them easier
to use. From our larger steel beams to the many former service points that are now maintenance free–we’re
doing the things that matter when it comes to your tillage.
Because it matters to you–it matters to us.
DIESEL & MACHINE, INC.
Dealer Name • dealerwebaddress.com
Dealer Address
02
Dealer Address 03
227 20th St. North,
Lewiston,
ID 83501
City
City
Dealer Address 01
City
Phone
Call Today! 208-743-7171
Phone
Phone
AGCO, Sunflower & Saber Blade are registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation • © 2014 AGCO • SF14C001ST
Rock Steel Structures, Inc.
Offering quality you can depend on:
Grain Storage For Farms or Warehouses
Farm Storage ! Hopper Bottom Bins
Grain Handling • Grain
Bin Accessories
Grain Bin Accessories
Water Storage Tanks ! Aeration Systems
Handling Equipment
www.SCAFCO.com
Shops • Warehouses • Equipment Storage
Steel Buildings • Steel Stud Pole Buildings
Water Storage Tanks • Aeration Systems Dealer Info
Hopper Bottom Bins • Catwalks, Ladders and Towers
Contact Scott Rock
[email protected]
509-764-9700
Moses Lake, Wash.
Advertiser Index
86 Ag Enterprise Supply Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
AGPRO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Ag Trucks & Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
AgVentures NW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
ATI Solutions LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Barber Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Blue Mountain Realtors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Butch Booker Auction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Byrnes Oil Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Central Life Sciences-Diacon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Central Washington Grain Growers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
CHS Connell Grain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Class 8 Trucks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
CO Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Columbia River Carbonates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Connell Grange Supply Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Conover Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Cooperative Ag Producers Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Country Financial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Custom Seed Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Diesel & Machine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Dow AgroSciences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Dow AgroSciences-GoldSky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Dow AgroSciences-PowerFlex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Edward Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Evergreen Implement Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Farm & Home Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Heartland Capital Funding Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Helena Chemical-Stand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
HUB International. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Inland Empire Milling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Inland Oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Jess Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Jones Truck & Implement Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Kincaid Real Estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Landmark Native Seed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Les Schwab Tire Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
McKay Seed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Micro-Ag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Northern Quest Resort & Casino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
NW Farm Credit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
NW Farmland Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
ORO-Agri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
OXARC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
PNW Farmers Cooperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
ProGene LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Perkins & Zlatich PS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Pioneer West Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Pomeroy Grain Growers Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
RH Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Rain & Hail Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Reardan Seed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Rock Steel Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Royal Organic Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Scales NW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Seedmaster Drills-Kevin Klein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Spectrum Crop Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Spray Center Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
SS Equipment Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Stoller USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
T & S Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Tri-State Seed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Walter Implement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Washington State Crop Improvement Association. . . . 13
WestBred-Monsanto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Wilbur-Ellis-Vendetta & Deadbolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Wilson Creek Union Warehouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Windermere Coeur d’Alene Realty Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Wolf Trax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
THE GENETICS COMPANY
THAT BRINGS YOU
Quality Green Peas,
Yellow Peas, Forage Oats
& Grain Triticale Varieties
FORAGE OATS
+ Everleaf® Oats
+ ProLeaf™ Oats
GRAIN TRITICALE
+ TriMark™ Varieties
HIGH QUALITY GREEN PEAS
+ Aragorn + Pacifica
+ Ariel
+ Greenwood
+ Ginny
+ Banner
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR
GROWERS AND DEALERS!
Ag Enterprise + Agri-Technologies + Anderson NW
Blue Mountain Seed + Central WA Grain Growers
Columbia Grain + Connell Grain Growers + Co-Ag
George F. Brocke & Sons + Inland Empire Milling
Jensen Seed Farm + PNW Farmers Coop + Primeland
Reardan Seed + Spectrum Crop Dev + Spokane Seed
Tri-State Seed + Whitgro, Inc
Kurt Braunwart
[email protected] www.progenellc.com
Go ahead,
lay your eggs.
Make my day.
Protect stored grains from insect infestations.
From silos and grain elevators to warehouses and storage bins,
Diacon IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) goes where stored product
insects go to provide long-term control and profit protection.
Diacon IGR is insect tested and stored food product sound. It’s
available in two formulations – Diacon IGR, a versatile liquid, or
Diacon -D IGR, a convenient dry formulation – that can meet your
varying needs when preventing stored product infestations. Call
800.248.7763 or visit bugfreegrains.com to learn more.
®
®
®
®
We went from 20% IDK, to zero.
FRANK RIEDL, Great Bend Coop
Listen to what our customers
are saying at bugfreegrains.com
Always read and follow label directions. Diacon and Diacon with design are trademarks of Wellmark International.
©2014 Wellmark International.
DOW AGROSCIENCES LEADS THE HUNT ON
HERBICIDE RESISTANCE
Joseph Yenish, Ph.D., Dow AgroSciences field scientist, talks herbicide
resistance and managing stealthy weeds.
Herbicide-resistant weeds are here.
It’s what you do now that really
matters. Resistant weeds don’t have an
opening day. The time to manage them is
before you’re noticing them in your fields.
Genetically-resistant weed biotypes exist
in our weed populations, just at a very low
frequency. Repeated use of the same
practices allows these herbicide-resistant
weed populations to grow and quickly
become the most dominant biotype in
that field.
Resistance doesn’t happen overnight,
but don’t let it sneak up on you. When
resistant weed populations develop,
growers face additional control costs,
including added herbicide applications,
higher-cost herbicides, greater production
expenses to remove resistant weeds and
potential yield loss.
It’s important to use chemical technology
in a manner and a timeline when it will be
the most effective against your target.
Herbicide resistant weeds can prey on your livelihood, but they don’t have to be an issue in
your fields. Resistance is a complicated issue—we want to make understanding it, and tips
to avoid it, easy. Visit www.dowagro.com/WheatLife to learn more.
PowerFlex® HL herbicide provides excellent
post-emergence cross-spectrum control of stubborn
grass weeds plus control of important broadleaf
weeds, excellent crop safety and rotational flexibility
—all at a price that’s right for winter wheat.
®DOW Diamond and PowerFlex are registered trademarks of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow.
PowerFlex HL is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product
is registered for sale or use in your state. Always read and follow label directions.
Weeds are easy to underestimate; it’s
time to prove you are the superior species.
Dow AgroSciences recommends:
• Avoid using a chemfallow system that
relies solely on glyphosate. Add a residual
herbicide to burndown applications to
help provide better weed control during
the fallow period.
• If conditions allow, apply pre-emergence
or early post-emergence residual herbicides
such as PowerFlex® HL to control winter
annual grasses.
• Focus on crop and herbicide rotations with
as much diversity as possible. An extended
rotation—that includes a mix of grass and
broadleaf crops such as winter wheat, a
spring cereal, followed by canola, a pulse
crop, soybeans or even summer fallow—
allows for use of completely different
herbicide chemistries applied at different
timings.
• Use tillage and/or non-selective herbicide
applications to control weed escapes
post-harvest. Burndown of volunteer grain
and winter annual weeds just ahead of
winter freeze can allow for earlier planting
of crops the following spring.
L38-888-001 (MC 3/15) 010-34951

March - Wheat Life

Transcription

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